Aprilia Racing competitive in Assen

THREE APRILIAS IN Q2: VIÑALES SECOND, ESPARGARÓ FOURTH, AND FERNÁNDEZ NINTH. SAVADORI HARD AT WORK ON THE RS-GP24

Already in the first free practice session of the morning, Maverick Viñales demonstrated that he is in outstanding form, finishing fifth. In the Practice session, the Spanish rider repeated the good performance, managing to go straight through to Q2, thanks to his second-place time – just 65 thousandths of a second from the best time of the session.
 
Aleix Espargaró also demonstrated a good feeling on this track, finishing the first free practice session just behind his teammate. Unfortunately, however, during the final seconds of the Practice session, Aleix had a bad high-side on the last chicane. After the accident, he went to the circuit medical centre to be examined. Luckily, he did not suffer any fractures – only an injury in the sacrum and coccyx area.
Despite the accident, Espargaró finished fourth, which put him straight through to Q2.
 
Lorenzo Savadori is carrying out several tests on the RS-GP24 with positive results, finishing the Practice session in twentieth place.

MAVERICK VIÑALES
“I feel like I am at an extremely high level. In terms of riding, I feel great on the bike and I was able to express the full potential of the RS-GP24. My time is below the track record, so we have improved a great deal since last year. I am extremely satisfied with my race pace and I think we’ll have an outstanding chance tomorrow.”

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
“I had a fall at the end of the practice session, it’s a pity because the day was going very well until that moment. I felt competitive on the bike, this is not an easy track, we carry a lot of speed and the aero puts more weight on the front year after year. Overall, I’m happy even if I have a lot of pain in my lower back and on my neck. Tomorrow it will be even worse, but it is not as bad as it could have been.”

LORENZO SAVADORI
“We’re testing a number of new things – clearly at the cost of pure performance. But even these tests are necessary in order to achieve the goal of improving the bike. We are working for this year, but also in view of 2025, with lots of new solutions.”

PAOLO BONORA
“We are pleased because it was an extremely positive session for us, in spite of Aleix’s crash, where he luckily did not suffer any serious consequences. We demonstrated that we are at a good point with our setup. This is a track that we like and the riders like it too. In fact, they have shown that they have a good pace, especially Maverick. We mustn’t forget the work Lorenzo is doing, which is contributing to the development of new solutions for the second half of the season and for next year.”