Aleix Espargaró finished the Austrian Grand Prix in fourteenth place, picking up two championship points, whereas Andrea Iannone who, for most of the race was close behind his teammate, finished outside the points zone in sixteenth place following a technical problem that slowed him down in the final laps.
It was a difficult race for both the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders on one of the hardest tracks of the championship for the Italian project. After a good start which had placed him at the limit of the top 10, Aleix was involved in a series of contacts on turn 3 that cost him the positions he had gained. Finding himself dead last, the Spanish rider made up ground, but the difficulty overtaking limited his comeback.
ALEIX ESPARGARO'
“This weekend, we were unable to be as competitive as we would have liked. I gave it my all in the race. I started well, but after a few contacts on turn 3, I found myself in last place. I made up a few positions, but it wasn’t easy to overtake. I tried to finish the race without making any mistakes. This track was one of the most difficult for us. We are confident that we will be more effective already at Silverstone.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“We did not exactly finish the race in the best way, but I am happy about the sensations I had in the saddle throughout the weekend. I rode to my full potential and the result is not the one we had expected. It’s a pity about the problem in the final clearlylaps, because I was right there with Aleix and Stefan Bradl and I had the potential to take some points.”