2 June 2024 - 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, #12: "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, #41: "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, #32: "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 (Mugello MotoGP Official test, 3 June 2024, ed.’s note) and we’ll try to work hard to have the most competitive bike possible."
THREE APRILIA IN THE TOP TEN FOR THE SPRINT RACE IN MUGELLO:
www.aprilia.com/en_EN/aprilia-world/racing/aprilia-motogp-2024-mugello-saturday
APRILIA:
www.aprilia.com/en_EN/aprilia-racing/moto-gp
UPDATED 2024 MOTOGP CALENDAR:
www.motogp.com/en/calendar
APRILIA ALL STARS: 8 JUNE 2024, MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT:
wide.piaggiogroup.com/en/articles/events/aprilia-all-stars-2024
