ON THE NEW ASPHALT AT LOSAIL THE RS-GP MACHINES DO WELL: MAVERICK THIRD, ALEIX FIFTH AND FERNANDEZ AHEAD OF THE REST

The fact that Losail was a track where the RS-GP could express its full potential was easy to imagine, but the unknown of the new asphalt placed an ominous question mark on any predictions. In reality, the Aprilias started well in Qatar, with three riders in the top ten and straight through to Q2.

Ahead of everyone was Raùl Fernandez with his "satellite" RS-GP, a performance that came after a series of good signs from the young Spaniard. Maverick was third, with his best lap (and new track record) nullified by a yellow flag, whereas Aleix was fifth after a harmless crash in the first session. 

An overall good performance in the first two sessions of a weekend that promises to be demanding. 

ALEIX
"I’m obviously pleased with this start. It’s only Friday – we always say it: there is still much to do. We especially need to analyse the data to understand why the RS-GP works so well in certain conditions. We’ll need to improve on our weak points – essential if we want to battle for a championship title. The new asphalt gradually improved. In the first session, it was rather dirty and deviating from the ideal trajectory was probably what caused my crash. There’s still a question mark on tyre choice. We’ll need to continue working on it tomorrow."

MAVERICK
"Like every Friday, the goal today was to go through to Q2. Being so fast is positive anyway, although we still have a lot to improve on. Tyre management with this new asphalt was an unknown for everyone and whoever works best preparing will have advantages both in the Sprint Race tomorrow and in the Race on Sunday. In any case, the good level of the RS-GP in these conditions is clear if we think about a week ago in Malaysia. This confirms that in MotoGP, you always have to put in the effort and the hard work without ever stopping."