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Category: Superbikes
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OUTSTANDING TEAM EFFORT FOR THE APRILIAS AT ARAGÓN
ALEIX BATTLES WITH THE TOP TEN AND FINISHES SEVENTH FIVE SECONDS FROM THE PODIUM
ANDREA, SUFFERING WITH PAIN IN HIS SHOULDER, BATTLES AND FINISHES JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN
At Aragón Aprilia takes the best result of the season, with Aleix Espargaró finishing seventh, but close to the leaders, and Andrea Iannone, still suffering with pain in his shoulder after the Misano accident, finishing eleventh.
After the good sessions yesterday that had placed him on the second row, Aleix started off strong, holding onto his position and fending off an attack by Rossi, staying close to the group of top riders battling for podium positions. The battle with Crutchlow for sixth continued all the way to the last lap when Aleix recovered ground, finishing in the Brit’s slipstream but, more importantly, keeping the gap to five and a half seconds behind the second place finisher in a race where the winner – Marquez – was in a race by himself. This is a great result that placed Aleix among the protagonists in the Spanish race and it is an excellent way to head off for the overseas tour.
Throughout the race Andrea had to deal with pain in the left shoulder he injured in Misano. He gritted his teeth and, although having to dose out his strength, he remained consistently in the positions battling for the top ten. He missed it by less than half a second, but after a nice battle where he prevailed over Petrucci precisely on the final lap. The week-long break before flying out to Thailand will be essential for his full physical recovery.
Bradley Smith, in the race with the third RS-GP, finished nineteenth, completing the work he had planned with the Test Team.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"Today’s result was good. The team and I gave 100% and we deserve it. At the start, with the fuel tank full, I didn’t have the best feeling with the front end, but things got better and better after a few laps. I had fun. Battling in the leading group is always nice, although the characteristics of the track undoubtedly helped us."
ANDREA IANNONE
"This weekend I had to grit my teeth and even in the race, the pain in my shoulder forced me to save my energy, especially when grip began to decrease. I am pleased with the team result, but we need to keep working hard, first and foremost, to reduce the gap in acceleration and top speed compared to Aleix. We can’t let this race fool us. This is a track that suits the Aprilia well and we still have a long way to go."
BRADLEY SMITH
"It was a good day for Aprilia, the result of hard work by everyone. I am happy, first of all, about finishing the race, since in my last wild cards that had not been possible. We took a shot in the dark, starting with an entirely new setting. It was also a functional decision because of the tests we’ll be doing here in a few days, during which we want to give Aleix and Andrea a little extra help for the rest of the season."
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At the chequeredflag the gap with second-place rider Garzo was more than two seconds, with the Spaniard now second in the standings 19 points behind Ferrari. There is now only Valencia left, the second and last doubleheader to wrap up the season in November.
Lorenzo Savadori, on the other hand, was 11that the chequered flag and after staying with the big group and with a good battle with Terol he got to the chequered flag side by side with Terol, missing a top-ten finish for a split second.
It was a perfect weekend for Team Trentino Gresini, who will now get into an almost two-month break before the season finale in Valencia.
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ALEIX TWELFTH IN THE SILVERSTONE QUALIFIERS
CHATTERING LIMITS ANDREA, ON THE SIXTH ROW
The first good news for team Aprilia came at the end of FP3, where Aleix Espargaró was sent straight through to the Q2 session. The Spanish rider therefore took advantage of FP4 to work on race strategy, trying various tyre options and assessing the ideal setup. Aleix finished qualifying with a time of 1'59.620, which puts him in twelfth place.
Andrea struggled in today’s sessions with some nasty chattering which limited his efforts in finding the best performance. His time of 2'00.240 places him in the second spot of the sixth row on the grid. In anticipation of the race, Andrea and his team will analyse their options to attenuate the problem with vibrations and increase the feeling.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am having a lot of fun riding the bike and that is a positive aspect. I think that the new asphalt is helping. We have not had any problems caused by vibrations. The layout, with not too many spots where we need to accelerate from low speed, also suits the RS-GP well. I am pleased with this Saturday, but the top-ranking riders were really fast. It will not be easy to stay in the group during the race, but that is my goal."
ANDREA IANNONE
"In terms of tyre selection and race configuration, we have rather clear ideas. Unfortunately, we still have the chattering problem which really limited me. We’ll see if the guys are able to find some solution that will allow me to gain confidence and close the gap, even compared to Aleix. It will not be simple, but we’ll hang in there and try to improve constantly."
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SATISFACTION AND REGRETS FOR APRILIA IN THE GERMAN RACE
ALEIX CRASHES ON THE PENULTIMATE LAP AFTER AN OUTSTANDING RACE WITH THE GROUP BATTLING FOR FOURTH TO TENTH PLACE
ANDREA MAKES ANOTHER STEP FORWARD GETTING TO KNOW HIS RS-GP AND FINISHES IN THE POINTS AGAIN
With an outstanding race, Aleix Espargaró rode his Aprilia where he would like to be consistently in this 2019 season, namely with the group battling for the positions between fourth and tenth place. After pulling away from his brother Pol in the early stages of the race, he stayed with the group that included Dovizioso, Mir, Miller, Petrucci, Rossi and Morbidelli. In the finale, in a great duel with Morbidelli, he moved into ninth place, but at the start of the penultimate lap, he crashed out on turn one, nullifying the result in terms of points, but certainly not negating the positive sensations of the weekend.
Andrea Iannone confirmed his growth trend that began at the Barcelona race. After struggling in the early stages, he gradually gained confidence, lapping with times that were more and more like those farther ahead. He finished in the points here as well, overtaking Nakagami right at the end for thirteenth place.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"We were finally competitive. I’m sorry for the team and for all those who work on this project. When you end a race with a crash, you are usually angry about it, but today I am pleased because we were able to stay with the group where we want to be battling, from fourth to tenth place. I had a good start. I didn’t have great grip on the rear, but I was very strong in braking and I managed to stay up with Rossi. When he overtook Morbidelli, I struggled to do the same and I got a bit frustrated. When I got past him and tried to close the gap, I made a small mistake on turn 1 and crashed. We are not in the fight for the title, so when I saw the chance to take eighth, I went for it. It’s a pity about how it ended, but I am very pleased about how we did this weekend."
ANDREA IANNONE
"We are headed into the summer break on an upward trend. From Barcelona on, we took a small step and we need to pick up from here for the second half of the season. It was not an easy race today. I struggled with fresh tyres, but as the laps went by, I began to improve. We are taking some points home, but more than anything, I have more confidence in the saddle. We are able to understand the RS-GP better and we are very clear about which points we need to work on. I hope that the guys at home are able to get something new ready already for Brno. Our goal from here on is to battle consistently for the top 10."
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The E-pole of the newly-born MotoE World Cup was a bit of past and future at the Sachsenring. Picking up from the old-school Superbike Superpole but with the all-electric prototypes by Energica, Team Trentino Gresini MotoE got on track to battle for the first starting grid of the season.
With one single lap for every rider, Savadori and Ferrari make the most of the opportunity. The first one of the two to launch himself on the main straight was Lorenzo Savadori, who did not shine in free practice – due to his FP1 crash – but did well in setting his so-far quickest lap of the weekend (1’29.959secs) and claiming the 11thplace on the grid.
Matteo Ferrari did even better by being the first rider to lap under the 1’29secs mark: the 1’28.792secs time placed him on the second row, so the #11 can now challenge at the front with a great pace on his side.
The opening race in the history of MotoE will begin at 10:00, with the question mark of the rain that is expected to make its appearance tonight at the Sachsenring – and potentially shuffling the cards for the win.
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