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april 15, 2023 - Aprilia Racing

CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS - FRIDAY


FIRST TEST PASSED AT COTA: MAVERICK AND ALEIX STRAIGHT THROUGH TO Q2


The Circuit of the Americas, in Texas, is a round marked with a red magic marker on Aprilia's 2023 calendar. A historically tough track for the Italian team, it is an important litmus test to confirm the competitiveness of Aleix, Maverick, and  the 2023 RS-GP.

Initial feedback is positive. After extensive work in the garage seeking the best setup for the layout comprising fast direction changes and violent braking sections, both riders clinched top-10 spots in the second practice session today. This puts Maverick and Aleix straight through to the Q2 session which will decide the front rows of the grid, respectively in sixth and ninth place.

Focus now shifts to tomorrow, when Maverick and Aleix will tackle qualifiers and the 10-lap Sprint Race.

Aleix
"I’m satisfied with my performance today. I don’t think I've ever been this tired after a Friday practice. COTA is a circuit where you have to work a lot physically to adapt to the layout and the bumps. It will be a demanding weekend from this point of view, whereas on the technical side, we are constantly looking for a compromise between agility and stability. This morning I struggled a bit more because I couldn’t use the hard front tyre, the one I feel most comfortable with, but I’m pleased with the step forward in P2."

Maverick
"A positive day, especially because there was a clear improvement compared with last year. We were fast straight away both on the flying lap and in terms of pace, and I feel good in the saddle. The bike moves around a lot because of the bumps, but it’s like that for everyone and our bike is actually not performing badly at all in these conditions. It was important to go straight through to Q2 today and we did just that. For the qualifiers, a clean ride will be fundamental because it’s easy to make mistakes on this track. The goal is to qualify on the front row; it will take a perfect lap to do that but it is within our reach".