MAVERICK VIÑALES FIFTH IN MISANO

A GREAT BRAND RESULT FOR APRILIA WITH THREE BIKES IN THE TOP EIGHT

Maverick Viñales took another positive placement in the top five, finishing fifth at the GP of San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini. Taking the position just behind the leaders in the early stages of the race, Maverick basically maintained his pace all the way to the end, almost never having to engage in battle.

In the Emilia Romagna GP, Aprilia achieved a nice brand result with three RS-GP machines finishing in the top eight. In fact, in addition to Maverick’s fifth place, Miguel Oliveira and Raùl Fernandez finished sixth and eighth respectively. The team RNF standard bearers thereby contributed to confirmation of what the Aprilias had demonstrated on Saturday in qualifying, when four went through to Q2.

In the race, Aleix Espargaró’s sharp performance was missing after winning just seven days ago in Barcelona. He substantially compromised his performance in the early stages after the start, dropping back several positions. An analysis of his pace shows speed similar to that of the top-5 finishers, but difficulty overtaking kept him from achieving a better position. His 12th place means four Important points in the hunt for fourth place in the overall championship standings.

ALEIX
“The result is obviously not good, but I gambled away the race at the start. I lost positions and found myself in a group where we all had a very similar pace. Struggling to overtake, despite laptimes that were actually good, I was unable to do better than I did. We knew that this would be a complicated track for us, both for the characteristics of the RS-GP and because I don’t particularly like the layout. From here on out, I have good feelings, plus we’ll be able to use the test tomorrow to try some solutions to improve in these conditions.”

MAVERICK
“Being disappointed with a top-5 finish is a good sign. It means that we have raised the bar and we want to stay out front. I expected more this weekend – I won’t hide that – but we struggled more than expected when grip increased, especially in braking. It’s a question of balance – compromise in the setup – that we need to work on. Already in the test tomorrow, I definitely want to improve in braking in these conditions.”