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BEST QUALIFIERS OF THE SEASON FOR LORENZO SAVADORI, ON THE FOURTH ROW

15 May 2021

ALEIX MISSES GOING THROUGH TO A Q2 SESSION THAT SEEMED WITHIN HIS GRASP

The crash at the start of Q1, the seemingly infinite run back to pit lane and the restart with the subsequent best time, all within ten minutes. This about sums up the qualifiers for Lorenzo Savadori who, in the difficult conditions on the French Le Mans track, demonstrated great feeling with his Aprilia RS-GP, taking home the well-deserved best position of his MotoGP career. Lorenzo will be starting from the eleventh spot on the grid tomorrow and he is ready to tackle a race that promises to be complicated by the ever-changing weather conditions.

Despite a few problems during free practice, Aleix also demonstrated flashes of great competitiveness. With the track drying out and getting wet at regular intervals, Espargaró filed away a series of outstanding times in Q1, holding onto first place until just a few minutes from the end. Only a moment of indecision on his final flying lap kept him from going through to the second qualifying session, which seemed entirely feasible for him. He’ll be starting the race from the first spot on the fifth row, in thirteenth place.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“A pity about the qualifiers. Unfortunately, I made a mistake not boxing to put on the medium rain tyre. With the track drying out, the soft tyres got too hot and the bike moved around a lot, especially at the front. I tried to do a slow lap to let them cool, but it wasn’t enough. The position definitely does not reflect the feeling I had. If it’s a dry race tomorrow, I think we’ll be fast, despite not having much data. In the eventuality of a wet track, things will be less predictable but I’m comforted by the fact that the 2021 RS-GP works well in any conditions.”

LORENZO SAVADORI
“I am incredibly happy with these qualifiers, especially because it honours Aprilia’s hard work and the trust this team has always placed in me. In these conditions, with the bike moving around a lot, I am able to find a good feeling because the sensations come close to the ones I’m used to coming from the factory derivative categories. In fact, in the dry, where it takes a lot of precision and stability, I am still lacking the experience to ride the way I’d like to. As for tomorrow, above all, we need to be ready and reactive to the changing weather. Managing the race will be fundamental.”