Maverick leads on Friday in Valencia with the new track record

AMAZING TOP-10 FOR ALEIX AS HE SOLDIERS THROUGH THE PAIN

The opening practice sessions in Valencia – the final round of the MotoGP season – were dominated by Maverick Viñales who, on his Aprilia, managed to break the track record which had stood since 2016. Aleix also did extremely well. On the track in pain due to his fractured fibula, injured last week in Losail, he gritted his teeth and took home an amazing (given the conditions) top-10, which sends him straight through to Q2. Also noteworthy is the eighth-place time by Raúl Fernández, improving consistently with Team RNF and bringing the number Aprilias in the top ten to three.

Now the focus shifts to Saturday’s sessions. FP3 to fine tune race pace and tyre choice, Q2 to battle for a good spot on the starting grid, and the 13-lap Sprint Race which will award the first points of the weekend.

ALEIX
"To be honest, I’m a bit sad, because I did not expect to suffer this much. I’m able to hang tough for a couple laps, but then the pain gets to be too much. This track is not the best suited for the situation since there are a lot of left-handers where I struggle more. The crash this morning was also due to this. My body tries to compensate for the lack of strength on the left side and I used the brakes too much to get the bike turning. At the moment, participating in the race doesn’t seem likely. I’ll try to have fun in qualifying and then we’ll see. The Clinica has done an incredible job and we have a few ideas for tomorrow, but I don’t know if it will be enough."

MAVERICK
"A time of 29.1 in Valencia is spectacular. This is proof that we are fast and that we have great potential. Now the goal is to maintain our speed throughout the weekend. On this track, we need to have the skill to find the right balance between the front and rear tyre. Today we were successful and riding the RS-GP was truly a pleasure. We’ll analyse the data closely now to continue our improvement process. The pace is not bad, but it’s only Friday and too early to say. We’ll see what happens with the conditions tomorrow."