8 September 2024 - The long race started with light rain falling – not enough to justify using rain tyres, but with the possibility of a flag-to-flag in the event of worsening weather conditions.
Maverick Viñales, starting from the eleventh spot on the grid, lost a few positions in the opening scrum to find himself sixteenth at the end of the first lap. Aleix Espargaró, on the other hand, had a good start from the thirteenth spot, managing to recover one position at the end of the first lap.
During the seventh lap, the rain began to fall harder, convincing both Aprilia Racing riders to pit in and switch over to the bikes set up for the wet. Nevertheless, the situation became more complicated when the rain stopped a few minutes later, forcing Espargaró and Viñales to make yet another pit stop to switch back to the bikes with slicks.
Maverick Viñales attempted to make a comeback, but the double pit stop penalized him, preventing him from finishing any better than sixteenth. Aleix Espargaró, also penalized by the double bike change, retired from the race on the fifteenth lap.
MAVERICK VIÑALES, #12: “I interpreted the situation based on the sensations I had on the bike. When it began to rain, it got hard to ride. I no longer had a good feeling on the bike, and that’s why I entered to pit lane. It was raining rather hard, especially in sectors 2 and 4. Then, soon after I went back out on the track, it suddenly stopped raining. This race does not reflect our level. The speed and potential we have are much higher. We need to have an in-depth look at the problem to figure out why we are unable to express our maximum potential.”
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, #41: “At the start of the race, I was not very competitive, and I struggled to maintain the group’s pace. When I saw that it was raining, I thought that it was the right time to take a risk. This weekend we were not competitive. We are struggling with the lack of grip and we are not at the level we would like to be.”
MASSIMO RIVOLA: “Another disappointing weekend. The positive note is that all signs concerning the medium tyre are rather comforting. The decision to switch bikes when it started raining was clearly the wrong one, but in conditions of slippery grip, the bike sent us clear messages, similar to what we saw in the Aragón race. We are fortunate to have a test on Monday and then another race on this track, so we’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot, and we will do just that.”
www.aprilia.com/en_EN/aprilia-world/racing/aprilia-motogp-2024-misano-saturday
