Aleix Espargaro is not experiencing the Sepang test he would have liked. Although he set a competitive time on day one, the Granollers driver lamented the lack of the new developments he had hoped to deliver, and day two didn’t fare much better, with rain and a crash leaving him little time to run .
At the end of Saturday’s session, he was one of the riders who completed the fewest laps, only 26, and his best time was over two minutes, so far from the best references of the day.
But it is well known that times are not always the most important thing on a day of testing and, depending on the programme, a driver may concentrate on setting fast laps, finding race pace or trying out new parts and set-ups.
For Aleix, however, this was not the case. The Aprilia rider had planned to test “many aerodynamic parts”, but luck was not on his side.
“It was a stupid day,” he told the press. “It would have been better to stay in the hotel and watch Netflix.”
“We were waiting for the track to dry and I was going very fast, but I had a problem with the brakes, I lost the front and crashed. The mechanics fixed my bike, but when it was my turn to go out on the track it started raining again,” he regretted.
“We had a lot of aerodynamic parts to test, but we didn’t succeed,” he added in frustration. However, he expressed positive opinions on the RS-GP, which according to him is “better in many details”. “They told me that the racing engine will be a little more powerful,” he added.
Regarding the trend of manufacturers to design ever more extravagant fairings, Aleix said: “Personally I don’t like it at all”. However, he acknowledged that this is an aspect to exploit if you want to be fast: “We have one of the best aerodynamics departments around, and if the regulations allow it, you have to take advantage of it.”
After fighting almost to the end in 2022, Aleix and Aprilia have only one goal in mind: to win the title in 2023. But the eldest of the Espargaros doesn’t believe they are still at the necessary level in Noale to challenge Ducati .
“There are many Ducatis that go very fast, and this shows that their bike is a little ahead. At the moment we’re not that far from them, but our bike doesn’t allow us to fight for the championship head-to-head with them I don’t see any other brand ahead of us.”
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