MAVERICK VIÑALES ALSO FINISHES FP3 IN THE TOP TEN TO START FROM THE FOURTH ROW TOMORROW

NARROW GAPS FOR LORENZO SAVADORI

The Aleix Espargaró and 2022 Aprilia RS-GP duo proves yet again to be one of the most competitive in MotoGP, with the Spaniard once again putting in a stellar performance, finishing the Spanish GP qualifiers with the third best time overall at 1’36”933.
As happened one week ago in Portugal, this means that Aleix will be on the front row of the starting grid for the Grand Prix race scheduled for tomorrow and for which he has shown that his pace is on par with the best.

After a positive morning where he finished FP3 in fifth place with a time of 1’36”975, thereby going straight through to Q2, Maverick Viñales was unable to achieve the same feeling in qualifying, stopping the clock at 1’37”675, partly due to two yellow flags that voided his best attempts. Although on the fourth row of the starting grid, Maverick, like Aleix, can still count on the outstanding race pace he demonstrated in FP4.

Also on the rise is Lorenzo Savadori who, despite not focusing his weekend on pure performance, has still skilfully reduced the gap behind more experienced riders.

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"These were not simple qualifiers. To be honest, I wasn’t very optimistic. From the first session, I felt comfortable with the race tyre, but there were problems with chattering every time we attempted a time attack with the soft tyre. But today I really gave 110%. Usually it isn’t a good idea to take so many risks, but today this strategy paid off. It was extremely important to start from the front row because here in Jerez it isn’t easy to overtake, especially when the track get slippery in the heat. We can count on a good pace with the medium tyre. The bike is working well and running smoothly, so we’re confident and I can’t wait for the race to start!"

MAVERICK VIÑALES
"I’m disappointed with our performance in qualifying. It’s a pity to be on the fourth row because we had the potential to battle for the top spots. In FP3 we were fast and in FP4 too, we were competitive with the race tyre. With the used tyres I especially feel really strong. Unfortunately, in qualifying I did not find the same feeling and we still need to figure out why. I didn’t have much grip and I was unable to be fast. We’ll keep working hard for tomorrow and give it our all but it will undoubtedly not be an easy race."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"Qualifiers were better than in Portimão. With such narrow gaps, just a few tenths would have been enough to make a big step forward. In any case, I’m happy both for Aleix’s front row and for the new components that we are learning to use step by step."