CAL CRASHES... TWICE!
Espargaro causes major upset by taking sixth place and mixing it with Honda stars
Aprilia have the smallest racing department of any manufacturer in MotoGP and are viewed by many as the team that’s on the grid to make up the numbers, but in Qatar on Sunday the Italian factory and their star rider Aleix Espargaro changed all that. In his first race on the RS-GP machine, Espargaro took a stunning top six result and set the third fastest lap of the race, only just missing out on the chance to beat the Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in the closing laps. The 27-year-old Spaniard has enjoyed some strong pre-season testing results, but admitted after Sunday’s action-packed race that even he was stunned by the result, finishing only half-a-second behind Pedrosa on the big budget Repsol Honda RCV. “We crossed the line less than a second from Marc and Dani and it’s going to be difficult to repeat that. But in the race the bike is great – it’s a real Sunday bike. When the tyre drops, the Aprilia traction is great, and that’s something that at every single track when it’s very hot or when no-one can go with the soft and I can, we’ll have an advantage. “For Aprilia to fight with two factory Hondas in the first race of the year is like a dream, and everyone is super-happy about it. But we need to keep building on that now. I knew we'd struggle in qualifying because I’m not able to push for one single lap, but I’m very happy with the race pace.” Despite the impressive start he’s trying hard not to get too carried away, admitting that while the result was incredible they have to remain focused on their pre-season targets instead of being lulled into a false sense of security. “It’s not going to be easy to fight for the top six and with the Hondas at every single race, and it’s stupid for me to say that it will be. But overall the Aprilia has improved a lot. I still need to understand the bike, but it’s competitive. The objective wasn’t to fight for top sixes it was to fight for top tens, so we’ve got a small advantage for the next few races. But people need to wait and see because this is just the beginning – we’re going to put the bike on the top for sure!"
‘For Aprilia to fight with two factory Hondas at the first race is a dream’