After finishing third in the Sprint race of the Qatar GP, Aleix Espargaró had encouraging prospects for the main race in Losail. The Aprilia rider believed in victory, but the truth is that he suffered from issues with the low temperature of the rear tyre and could only manage eighth place.
In an interview with the championship’s official website, the Spanish rider didn’t hide his disappointment: ‘I was expecting a completely different race. From the beginning, already on the warm-up lap going to the grid I felt that I had no grip at all. Something went wrong with the rear tyre, I was not expecting this performance at all. So we have to work with Michelin and with the team to understand what happened. Obviously with the pace we showed in the last part of the Sprint, I was aiming for a completely different race. But there was nothing I could do really, it was a nightmare race’.
Espargaró believes it was a missed opportunity, despite a good performance from the new RS-GP: ‘We showed we have a good bike, I’ve been very, very fast all the weekend, the speed is there, so it’s very, very important. But I’m a little bit angry because we lost a good opportunity. When I went to sleep on Saturday I felt I had the win on my hands, I was dreaming to win on Sunday. But unfortunately there was nothing I could do’.