28 April 2023, Jerez Circuit (Spain) - Because of the new MotoGP weekend format, the Friday practice sessions are particularly important since they are the ones that decide who goes straight through to the second qualifiers. This situation amplifies the extraordinary result achieved today by Aprilia in Jerez de la Frontera.
In fact, Aleix and Maverick finished respectively in first and second place, separated by just 2 thousandths of a second, despite the fact that the scorching temperatures made it difficult to improve on their already good times from P1.
This performance come on their return to Europe, confirming what had already emerged, although not clearly, during the first three weekends of the 2023 MotoGP season. Aprilia is in the mix, stronger than ever before and ready for battle. This trend was reiterated by Miguel Oliveira’s seventh place with his Team RNF RS-GP.
Aleix Espargaró (bike no. 41): “The flying lap this afternoon almost surprised me, I’ll be honest. With this heat and with a less than perfect level of grip, similar to what we had in Argentina, it seems that the Aprilias are able to fully exploit the situation.
This does not mean that it’s easy. To the contrary! In any case, I am rather satisfied, also because I think that we are among the best if not the best in terms of pace. We are off on the right foot for this weekend here in Jerez”.
Maverick Viñales (bike no. 12): “This afternoon the situation was not at all easy, so dropping below 1'37 is extremely positive. In sector 4, I have always been rather fast. This year I improved my times a lot in the first and third sector because the bike allows it.
We knew that we could be fast and what we had been lacking until now was setting up the perfect weekend. Now we need to focus on qualifying because starting from the front is fundamental. The feelings are good, and we’ll definitely be able to have our say”.
