Complicated race for Aprilia Racing in Mugello

VIÑALES EIGHTH, ESPARGARÓ ELEVENTH, SAVADORI TWENTY-FIRST ACROSS THE LINE

The long race in the GP of Italy did not bring the improvements that Aprilia had hoped for, with the Italian manufacturer forced to settle for Maverick Viñales’ eighth place. The Spanish rider lost a few positions in the early stages and, despite being stuck in rear guard traffic, demonstrated the best possible race pace.

Aleix Espargaró, after a good start from the ninth spot on the grid, struggled with grip and finished eleventh. It was still an important day for Aleix, however, achieving a historic landmark in the race. In fact, he tied Loris Capirossi with 328 Grand Prix raced.

Lorenzo Savadori, busy testing new components, finished the race in twenty-first place. 

MAVERICK VIÑALES
"The medium rear tyre was the best choice I could have made. In fact, I maintained a good pace at the mid-race point, but it wasn’t enough. I tried to close the gap behind the rider ahead of me, but I was unable to overtake and the tyres overheated. In any case, we collected important data ahead of the test."

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"It was a very physical race. As soon as I began losing grip, the bike moved around a lot. As I have said, this is not a favorable track for my riding style and I struggle with so many fast direction changes. We’ll keep looking forward and think about the test. We’ll work hard to make up ground on the others."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"During the Sprint Race, I was enthusiastic about what we had tested, but over the long distance, things didn’t go as we had expected. This was my first long race because I had to retired in Jerez. We’ll have a lot of things to try during the test and we’ll try to work hard to have the most competitive bike possible."

MASSIMO RIVOLA
“It was a bitter home Grand Prix. Starting from the front row, we expected more. We definitely need to work on improving the way we manage the race. The positive note is that we collected important data for the test. We’ll focus on testing the new components Lorenzo has been working on and improving the bike as much as possible.”