Aleix Espargaro has described the initial MotoGP race start as ‘at the worst time’ and helped push for an earlier start time in the Safety Commission following Friday practice.
Aleix Espargaro feels the “hybrid” Aprilia which produced a successful outing at the Australian MotoGP has translated a promising pace in Malaysia as he secured a provisional Q2 spot following Friday practice.
Both Red Bull KTM riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro see Phillip Island as their best shot ar a strong result to end 2018 given the team’s impressive pace both in last year’s race and in previous tests.
Aleix Espargaro took the tyre gamble none of his MotoGP rivals risked, while also going against Michelin’s recommendations, on his way to securing 13 th place for Aprilia in Thailand.
A day after wishing the 2018 season would finish as soon as possible , Aleix Espargaro celebrated 'one of the better days of his career' by matching the best ever MotoGP result for the Aprilia RS-GP.
To say that Saturday at Aragon was a day to forget for the Espargaro family would be a massive understatement. It began with factory KTM rider Pol re-breaking his healing left collarbone in morning practice, sending him back to hospital for surgery.
Aleix Espargaro hopes Aprilia have taken a step closer to understanding their present problems and future direction after being 'immediately fast' on his return to the 2017 RS-GP during a private post-race test at Misano.
Aleix Espargaro has expressed sympathy for Christophe Ponsson, but insists no rider should make their MotoGP debut during a race weekend. Espargaro has personal experience of the matter, having also never ridden a MotoGP machine before his own 2009 stand-in debut.
Aleix Espargaro has conceded getting up to speed with the new Aprilia engine configuration made it a tricky Friday at Misano while also completing a debut day with his new crew chief.
Pol Espargaro is confident he’ll be able to manage the pain during the Misano race but accepts he’ll be hampered by a lack of physical power on his Red Bull KTM on his return from injury.
Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro will have a new crew chief at this weekend's Misano MotoGP round. Pietro Caprara, technical director and crew chief at the Sky VR46 team before joining Aprilia, is to take over from Marcus Eschenbacher for the remainder of the season.
Aleix Espargaro was one of the first victims of a treacherous wet track that caught out half-a-dozen riders - and left Tito Rabat with multiple leg fractures - during final MotoGP practice at Silverstone.
KTM is yet to beat the best race result of its rookie MotoGP season, but the factory insists it is 'not panicking' and will eventually reach its victory goal, no matter how long it takes.
KTM motorsports director Pit Beirer is sure the factory's new 2019 MotoGP signing Johann Zarco 'will make us better'. And that includes helping team-mate Pol Espargaro 'use his full potential'. In return, Beirer believes Zarco can pick things up from Espargaro's 'talent'.
Bradley Smith is confident he can make a seamless transition from the current KTM to the updated version but warns the Austrian squad ‘can’t take any unnecessary risks’ in its development plan.
Aleix Espargaro says he’s ‘tried everything’ with his Aprilia without success as he admits he ‘doesn’t know how to go faster’ with the Italian manufacturer in Austria.
Bradley Smith matched KTM's best result of the season, and his best result of last year on the RC16, with tenth place in Sunday's German MotoGP. The Englishman almost doubled his season points as he finished a safe distance between Tech3 Yamaha riders Johann Zarco and Hafizh Syahrin.
It's no secret that Danilo Petrucci and Pramac team-mate Jack Miller lead the list of riders ready to replace Jorge Lorenzo, if the triple MotoGP champion does not renew his contract with Ducati for 2019.
Aprilia's new carbon fibre swingarm is due to make its debut 'in one of the next races', following a promising private test with the MotoGP team at Mugello. That probably means either this weekend's Le Mans round, or the factory's home event at the same Mugello circuit from June 1-3.
Having looked longingly across the KTM garage as test rider Mika Kallio gave the '2019 prototype' it's grand prix debut at Jerez, Pol Espargaro was all smiles after getting back on the machine during the Monday test.