ON THE TRACK ANDREA IANNONE, BRADLEY SMITH AND MATTEO BAIOCCO. ALEIX ESPARGARO’ STOPPED BY GASTRITIS. NEXT PRE-MOTOGP APPOINTMENTS 2019: TEST ON 6 FEBRUARY AT SEPANG IN MALAYSIA, AND 23 AT LOSAIL IN QATAR, WHERE ON 10 MARCH WILL START THE NEW SEASON WITH THE FIRST RACE.
Jerez de la Frontera, 29 November 2018 – The 2018 MotoGP World Championship season came to a close today with the second day of tests at Jerez de la Frontera. These tests are closely correlated to next year's calendar, since they are the last chance to collect data and information until testing resumes in February (on 6th at Sepang in Malaysia, and on 23rd at Losail in Qatar, where on 10th March will start the new 2019 season with the first race).
In the Aprilia camp, the testing schedule continued with Andrea Iannone (n. 29), Bradley Smith (n. 38) and Matteo Baiocco (n. 15). In fact, after going out on the track for a few laps, Aleix Espargaró had to throw in the towel due to the after-effects of his bout with gastritis that forced him to skip the tests yesterday.
While Andrea continued his apprenticeship astride the RS-GP, where he experimented with the various available configurations, despite the troublesome consequences of his crash yesterday, Bradley focused on comparing the two different engine types. In the Aprilia Test Team garage, Matteo Baiocco moved forward with development work, turning 48 laps.
BRADLEY SMITH: "Today we once again had to change our plans slightly since Aleix was unfortunately still debilitated. Our work focused on the comparison between two different engine types, a decision in anticipation of the 2019 season to try to find, above all, rideability and better power distribution. Our ideas are rather clear. During the two days of testing in Valencia and these tests, Aleix, Andrea and I had rather similar sensations and this is certainly helpful for development of the new Aprilia MotoGP bike."
DAY 1. FINAL TESTS OF 2018 IN JEREZ: ANDREA IANNONE, BRADLEY SMITH AND MATTEO BAIOCCO ON THE TRACK FOR APRILIA.
Jerez de la Frontera, 28 November 2018 – In the final tests of 2018 for MotoGP, Aprilia's plans changed a bit, given the unavailability of Aleix Espargaró on this first day. The Spanish rider is recovering from a bout of gastritis and in his place today was tester Bradley Smith, whereas Matteo Baiocco worked in the garage with the Aprilia Test Team. For Andrea Iannone, on the other hand, the programme was confirmed with the rider turning 24 laps today until a crash forced him to return to pit lane. In his process of adapting to the Italian bike, Andrea finished with an encouraging eleventh best time at 1'39.008.
BRADLEY SMITH: "This type of test with Aleix's material was planned, but his physical problem sped up the timeline. It was important for me to test all the material available to Aprilia in order to complete the programme and provide the technicians with the best possible indications. Compared to Valencia, some big steps forward were made. I feel much more at ease with the RS-GP. Today I compared to different types of engine and tomorrow morning I'll continue with Aleix's bike before going back in the afternoon to work with the test team."
INFO:
www.aprilia.com/en_EN/racing/moto-gp
