Aleix Espargaro: Fifth ‘great’ at one of my worst tracks
"If on my worst days I can finish fifth in MotoGP, that’s great"
Although unable to match team-mate Maverick Vinales’ Sprint victory heroics, Aleix Espargaro hailed his fifth place as a great personal performance at one of his worst tracks.
Starting on pole, Vinales led the Sprint from start to finish for his second Saturday victory in a row.
Meanwhile Espargaro, the only rider to win official (Sunday) MotoGP races so far for Aprilia, rode from seventh to fifth place, 6.7s behind Vinales.
“I am extremely happy for Aprilia and for Maverick. This win demonstrates that the bike is improving greatly,” Espargaro said.
"For me, this is one of my worst tracks on the calendar, along with Austria. I [struggle] in stop-and-go corners. So I have to improve.
“But I'm very happy with my performance, sincerely. If at my worst circuits, on my worst days, I can finish fifth in MotoGP, that’s great.
“I think the [Sunday] race will be better for us because our tyre consumption looks slightly better than KTM and Ducati. So hopefully we can be even closer to the podium.”
