Dovizioso, who is taking a sabbatical from racing in 2021 after losing his Ducati ride last season, rode for three days at Aprilia in Jerez earlier this week.
The 15-time MotoGP race winner mainly worked on getting used to the RS-GP after riding the Ducati for eight years and didn’t reveal much about the Aprilia’s positives and negatives.
Espargaro admits he wasn’t told much about the test but says Aprilia’s technical director Romano Albesiano noted that Dovizioso “said exactly the same thing I said” about the bike.
“Sincerely, I don’t have a lot of information about the test yet,” said Espargaro.
“I talked a little with Romano and he explained it to me a little, but it wasn’t a lot of information because after three days you have a lot of information.
“But I don’t think Andrea tried anything that can help me at the moment. I think he was just trying to get the feeling of not riding again after such a long time and trying to understand the bike.
“My riding style is a little bit more … I try to get more cornering speed because I think that’s what the Aprilia bike wants. And Andrea is more used to stop-and-go, but not because it’s his driving style, but because the Ducati didn’t allow him to use the cornering speed.
“The first impression Romano made was that he said exactly what I said.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“Romano was fun because he told me it looks like he’s listening to a lot of his explanations, so that’s good. That is, we understand the bike the same way.
“It’s only the first test, there are a lot of things to try, but it means we have a similar understanding of the bike.”
Dovizioso will drive the Aprilia again on May 11th and 12th in another private test, this time in Mugello.
Last month, Dovizioso’s manager admitted that he didn’t expect his driver to drive the Aprilia in 2021. Earlier this week, Dovizioso said testing the bike was “smart” for him as he was working towards a full-time MotoGP return in 2022.
Aprilia is allowed to use one driver for six wildcard appearances in 2021, which will open the door for Dovizioso to race this season if both parties so wish.