EVEN IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS ALEIX TAKES HOME ANOTHER SOLID TOP-TEN FINISH

MAVERICK, PENALISED BY HIS START, MOVES UP THROUGH THE POSITIONS AND FINISHES WITH THE SEVENTH BEST RACE LAP TIME BUT JUST OUTSIDE THE POINTS

The tropical storm that hit a half hour before the start of the first MotoGP race on the new Indonesian circuit threw a spanner in the works, reducing it to seven laps. Aleix Espargaró, consistently among the fastest in dry conditions, showed his skill by reacting well to the new conditions as well. After a less than perfect start, he got caught up in a battle during the opening lap, losing quite a few positions, but from there he began to turn fast and consistent laps with a great deal of confidence on his RS-GP. In his group, he managed to get the better of Darryn Binder, Bastianini, his brother Pol, Álex Márquez and Bagnaia, thereby finishing in a solid ninth place. With more than a few regrets about not managing to avoid contact on that first lap, which cost him the best positions straight away.

Maverick Viñales achieved a great result in the warm-up session on dry asphalt when, after a few significant changes to his bike’s setup, he found new confidence on the RS-GP, so much that he finished second. After a bad start, he found himself at the back of the group, but he was able to find his rhythm and lapped at the same times as the best. Unfortunately, his comeback ride stopped just behind 15th place, so outside of the points zone. However, he’ll be leaving Mandalika after taking a major step forward in his growth on the Aprilia.

Aleix Espargaró
"It was a very difficult race because of the weather conditions and because during the first lap, I found myself twentieth due to contact with Álex Márquez. Staying in the group was hard and visibility was also extremely poor. But the bike worked well. Grip wasn’t bad and from there I began to come back. In the last seven laps I overtook quite a few riders, making up positions. Taking home another top-ten finish on such a difficult Sunday was a good result."

Maverick Viñales
"Even though the result is certainly not the one we wanted, it was a positive weekend. Today was perhaps the most important day of growth for me since joining Aprilia because we found a really good setting that I was able to go fast with in the warm-up session and that I was comfortable with even in wet conditions. I'm happy with the work we did here. We are taking a step closer to the best with every round. I can’t wait to get to Argentina to continue this positive trend."