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FIFTH ROW FOR ESPARGARÓ AT PORTIMÃO

21 November 2020

The pre-qualification for Q2 that slipped through Aleix’s fingers during the third practice session by just 39 thousandths complicated the Aprilia rider’s plans on Saturday in Portimão. Forced to go through the first qualifying session, Espargaró was unable to finish his flying lap as well as he could have and he was forced to settle for the fifth row.

Lorenzo Savadori demonstrated a good pace in race conditions, but his lack of experience is a limitation when he is pushing for maximum performance in qualifying. In any case, the Italian rider improved his times and continued working on the RS-GP’s setup, with progress that makes a placement in the points for him a reasonable expectation.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“Unfortunately, having missed out on going straight through to Q2 threw a spanner in our plans. In FP3, we were really close. My pace is some consolation for me, since I didn’t see any other riders with a decidedly better one than mine, so I think I’ll be able to make up positions in the race. This is not the best circuit for overtaking, but there are some possibilities, especially if we are able to exploit the strong points of the RS-GP.”

LORENZO SAVADORI
“My feeling continues to improve and I’m happy about that. My pace isn’t bad. I still struggle with confidence when the tank is full, so it will be important not to lose too much ground in the early laps tomorrow. We did some tests where that is concerned, thanks to the fact that I’m getting used to working with two bikes. It seems like a simple thing, but it actually changes the work method entirely compared to having a single bike. However, in qualifying I could have done more. As I already mentioned, when it comes to finding that last 10% of performance on the flying lap, I still don’t have perfect sensations, and in this championship, it’s the details that make the difference.”