SECOND, FOURTH, AND EIGHTH ROW FOR THE APRILIAS IN ASSEN

ALEIX’S ATTEMPTS FRUSTRATED BY YELLOW FLAGS
GOOD PACE FOR MAVERICK IN RACE CONFIGURATION
LORENZO CONSISTENT AND FOCUSED
 
 
The news that arrived yesterday evening of Aleix’s best laps in FP2 being cancelled did not shake the Aprilia rider’s concentration. In fact, Espargaró went straight through to Q2 with an impeccable first session, finishing first and then dedicating the FP4 session to race preparation. With a long run on the same tyres, Aleix demonstrated a promising pace despite the numerous and fierce competition.

Qualifying wasn’t quite as easy due to a couple of yellow flags that nullified his final attempts where he likely would have improved on his already good fifth place spot on the starting grid.

Fortified by his top-10 finish after this morning’s sessions, Maverick also worked on race pace ahead of qualifying and the sensations were just as good. Viñales’ feeling has by now become a certainty, whereas there is still room for improvement when he pushes to the limit on new tyres. Starting from the fourth row means that he’ll need to be as incisive as possible in the early laps in order to stay with the leading group and aim for an important result.

Work continues on Lorenzo Savadori’s "laboratory" RS-GP, putting in a good performance today in the two sessions ahead of qualifying. In any case, despite starting from the eighth row on the grid, the young Italian tester has a pace that will surely allow him to ride an interesting race.
 
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"I am satisfied with our work today because in FP3 I managed to be extremely fast and go straight through to Q2, whereas in FP4 I did a long run to prepare for the race, maintaining a fast pace. Only qualifying didn’t go as I had expected. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my last two laps due to a couple of yellow flags. I’m sure that a spot on the front row would have been within my potential but I won’t make a fuss about it. The RS-GP is truly working well here in Assen."
 
MAVERICK VIÑALES
"Our race pace is good – extremely good – so the possibilities are there for a fun race. We know that we still need to work on qualifying because when we put on the new tyre, I’m unable to be as incisive. The margins for recovering are there, so decisive overtaking will be fundamental in order not to lose too much time. I expect a long and physical race and not an easy one."
 
LORENZO SAVADORI
"Today I did two really good sessions. In FP3 and FP4, considering our objectives, I reduced the gap behind the leaders, and I was consistent with used tyres. In the qualifiers I didn’t find that feeling that I would have liked to push on the soft tyre. Something wasn’t working quite right. Tomorrow we’ll have a good chance to turn laps and collect data."