GOOD SPRINT RACE FOR APRILIA IN ASSEN

ALEIX FOURTH AND JUST BEHIND THE LEADERS AFTER A GOOD SERIES OF OVERTAKES, MAVERICK SEVENTH ON A COMEBACK RIDE THANKS TO GOOD PACE, LORENZO FAST AND PRECISE

At the end of an unquestionably thrilling race, the factory Aprilia machines finished fourth with Aleix and in seventh place with Maverick. However, the tale of the sprint race in Assen would be incomplete without the events of the early stages after the start. A few brash manoeuvres by Zarco, who then also slowed Miguel Oliveira, negated Aleix and Maverick’s good starts, moving them away from the group battling for the podium and forcing them into a comeback ride.

Aleix, with precise and clean overtaking, soon moved into fifth place, then making up ground on the riders ahead of him. Once he reached them, despite a brilliant pace, the feeling with the front end kept him from completing another pass which, with Binder’s penalty, would have clinched a podium placement for him.

Maverick, who started very well from the third row, also had to widen his line on turn 1 and was then involved in the race start tussles. His comeback stopped at seventh place, but the pace he demonstrated when he was able to lap without having to battle is a great confidence booster for him in view of the race tomorrow.

Also worth a mention is the performance by Lorenzo Savadori, in Assen as a wild card. Battling against much more seasoned factory riders, the Italian took sixteenth place to his great satisfaction, making him optimistic for the race tomorrow.

Aleix
"It was a good race. I lost a bit of time at the start with Zarco. I think he was a little too aggressive, but we know that this can happen in the sprint race. I was able to recover quickly enough and then, once I reached the group battling for the podium, I struggled a bit with the feeling at the front. I may have been faster than them in certain points, but I didn’t have the margin to overtake them. I think in the long race tomorrow I’ll have more chances."

Maverick
"I’m pleased. It was a good race because we were fast and able to overtake well. When I was able to maintain my pace, I lapped around the 32 and a half mark, which is a pace that would let me make a play for the podium. I also had a good start, but I braked too hard on the first corner and got caught up in the mele which cost me positions, but then I recovered extremely well. Naturally, there are still some things we need to figure out to improve, but we have the pace to stay at the front."

Lorenzo
"I’m happy with my sprint race. We all started extremely aggressively, with knives in our teeth, and I lost a bit of ground with overtakes and counter-overtakes. In any case, I had fun. It’s great to battle with the fast factory riders. Our pace isn’t bad. In the race tomorrow, I hope to be able to take another step forward. We are testing some new details on the RS-GP and the ability to be fast is definitely positive."