Aleix Espargaró was far from achieving a result to his liking in the MotoGP Qatar GP. After showing potential to fight at the top in both qualifying and the Sprint race, he struggled with grip and finished eighth in the main race. Now, he arrives at the Portugal GP hoping to do better.
The Aprilia rider told the press: ‘I had a lot of fun in Qatar, honestly. I am very proud and happy especially with the qualifying, which is very important this season and I proved in Qatar that we can fight for pole position and also for the Sprint. Then there was nothing I could do in the race. I am overall happy with my feeling on the bike, I am having a lot of fun. Last season Maverick [Viñales] finished on the podium here, I set the track record, but due to my crash in qualifying I couldn’t really fight at the top because I started very far back on the grid. But everything seems fine’.
About the problems with the tires, Espargaró stated: ‘My idea is clear. Already on the warm-up lap on the way to the grid, I felt that there was no grip at all – it was impossible to ride the bike, it was like ice. And then being able to finish in the points by riding very slow, in the top ten, was important. There was nothing I could do. We know that one thing we need to improve is the quality of the tire because it happens a few times every season – not only to me, but also to several riders. Hopefully we can improve this‘.
The start procedure that was repeated due to a problem on a bike was not the cause of the tire difficulties according to #41, since the temperature was constant and the situation was the same for everyone.
