While he had astonished everyone in the opening rounds in 2021, the Aleix Espargarò-Aprilia combination has become a real certainty at that moment. After a positive seventh place in the ups and downs of Mugello, it is already time for both of them to jump headlong into the next round, which is planned for this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Growing up a few miles away in Granollers, his home GP has always been a special event where he tends to “throw his heart over the obstacle”. And the Spaniard is fully aware of this …
“I have Catalonia deep in my heart. This is where my passion for motorcycling took shape, As a child, I’ve heard the noise of motorcycles since school – he said – besides, there will be a large number of fans, little by little we are returning to normal. However, the weather does not bode well, it could rain on Sunday, which means that we will have to work hard from tomorrow morning ”.
Unlike in the recent past, the Spaniard (apart from Le Mans) has always ended up in the top 10 and never with a gap of more than ten seconds, which demonstrates the remarkable progress made by the Noale manufacturer. Now all that’s missing is the icing on the cake …
“The goal is to get back into the battle for the podium, In the previous races we were able to hold our own in the first places, only a few seconds behind the winner. This year the gaps have been particularly reduced, so I’ll have to do my best. “
Nonetheless, the possible marriage between Team Gresini and Ducati has been the main topic of conversation in the last few hours, an agreement that would prevent the company, led by Massimo Rivola, from building a satellite structure with a view to 2022.
“On the one hand, I’m disappointed because if I had a second team, I would no longer be the top driver in the project and would not have the opportunity to test all of the new components – he stated – on the other hand, I’m happy because it would confirm the progress we’ve made over the past few seasons – to which I’ve made a significant contribution – with two additional RS-GPs on the track. In any case, we have to try to keep going on the right track and perfect some small areas.
Aprilia is pushing to prepare four RS-GPs for next season. something that would make data analysis and the technician’s job easier. In this sense, the performance of those who ride the bikes is certainly important. The higher the speed, the easier it is to understand the goal of the bike.
“We and Suzuki are the only ones operating alone, but Joan Mir and Alex Rins compete for similar performances. This factor helps the team to develop the bike better. Lorenzo Savadori is a fantastic guy, he is improving quickly as a rookie, but it is not easy to climb the table. In today’s MotoGP it’s important to have a few quick and experienced riders. “, he concluded.