Espargaro: Red Bull Ring ‘difficult for Aprilia and my riding style’
The Aprilia rider took his first MotoGP win of 2023 and first since Argentina at the beginning of 2022, after overcoming Francesco Bagnaia in sensational style at Silverstone.
The last-lap showdown saw Espargaro make his way past Bagnaia under braking for turn 11, as he forced the front tyre of his RS-GP23 machine to the inside of the world champion.
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But despite Espargaro being the fastest rider throughout the race, the same type of performance is going to be difficult to replicate at the Red Bull Ring, according to the Spaniard.
"We have an important challenge in front of us this weekend, this track is difficult for Aprilia and for my riding style," said Espargaro in the pre-event press conference.
"I will try my best to keep momentum, for consistency in the last rounds. With my riding style, I have created this bike more or less.
"It is fast in the mid-corner, fast on long corners, but the stop-and-go is difficult. We are looking for better traction and more turn.
"This is a good place to find how we improve the 2023 bike. In Silverstone they brought me more items. The bike turns a little bit better. We have new updates here."
It took Espargaro a year-and-a-half to secure his second win, which is a length of time he’s hoping to avoid when it comes to making it a hat-trick of victories for Aprilia.
Asked what he’s learned about becoming a two-time winner, Espargaro said: "To win is very difficult so you must celebrate every victory.
"The beginning of this year, the mistakes were my fault, not my team’s fault. I put too much pressure on, set goals that were too high.
"I love my bike but I wasn’t able to show its potential. I feel more ready than last season. Hopefully we can recover points."
