Encouraging Wednesday for Aleix Espargaró on the second day of MotoGP testing in Sepang. The Aprilia rider finished fourth in the timesheet and, more importantly, felt that the new RS-GP has good potential.
The veteran Spaniard did not spare praise for the bike, stating: ‘I am happy, satisfied, because today we found a good compromise. We also tested different swing arms, and I also tested new aerodynamic items on the side. I am getting used to the bike. The level of this bike is definitely higher. Basically, with the same tuning and geometry as the 2023 bike – because we haven’t had time to work on the geometry aspect – we lowered our lap times in terms of pace and fast lap by about half a second. This means that the level of this bike is higher, the potential of the bike is higher’.
Despite the positive indicators, Espargaró emphasized that he still needs to get used to riding the bike: ‘I still have to understand how to ride it. The aerodynamics make the bike very different, but I like it because it helps me with cornering speed. I can lift myself more in the middle of the corner because I have more stability. So, I still need to get used to it, but it seems that the potential of the bike is high’.