Ducati “in general” not a better package than Aprilia in MotoGP
Aleix Espargaro believes the Ducati package “in general” is not better than the current Aprilia MotoGP bike, despite the former’s dominance at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Ducati locked out the podium in both races at Misano, with Pramac’s Jorge Martin victorious in both as he led a Ducati 1-2-3 in qualifying also.
This was in contrast to the Catalan GP the week before, in which Aprilia won both races with Aleix Espargaro in dominant fashion and got two RS-GPs on the podium on Saturday and Sunday.
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Having struggled to 12th in the grand prix after a bad start, Espargaro felt the nature of Misano contributed to Aprilia’s gulf to Ducati and “in general” the RS-GP is better.
Asked if the Ducati was the best bike on the grid currently after Misano, Espargaro said: “Here yes, in general no.
“I mean, when there is not a lot of front grip and we can release the front brake [early]… for example [in the grand prix] in corner 13 I was a lot faster than the guys in front of me, but it’s just one corner on this track where I can release the front brakes unfortunately.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“So, in this type of track, Ducati and KTM is better than Aprilia. In a track where you can release the front brake, carry corner speed, accelerate slowly, Aprilia is better.”
Espargaro could make no progress on his RS-GP after tumbling down the order in the grand prix.
And while he would join Marc Marquez in lamenting MotoGP’s current ruleset in making racing at tight tracks “impossible”, Espargaro conceded that Aprilia needs to improve its engine to find more torque to be able to stand a better chance at overtaking.
“We need to improve our engine, because on the stop-and-go tracks like this one [Misano], with a lot of grip, we need more torque,” he explained.
“I did not overtake nobody during the whole race and it’s a shame.
“We were like a train from P5 to P13, 14; we were within four seconds and I couldn’t overtake nobody.”
Espargaro currently sits fifth in the standings, albeit 123 points down on championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
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