LOTS OF WORK AND LOTS OF NEWS FOR THE ITALIAN TEAM. MAVERICK FAST MAVERICK VIÑALES AND INCISIVE, ALEIX ESPARGARO’ AGGRESSIVE DESPITE A FATIGUED RIGHT ARM.
Portimão (Portugal), 12 March 2023 - The testing time, although brief, has come to an end and for Aprilia the conclusions can only be positive. Aleix and Maverick, but also the team RNF riders, Oliveira and Fernandez, demonstrated a good level of competitiveness ahead of the official race début.
The Italian team brought an abundant series of innovations to the track, from the highly visible aerodynamic appendages to the less evident (but just as substantial) evolutions of every aspect of the 2023 RS-GP. The analysis of the data and the comments collected throughout these two days will provide the Aprilia techs with the information needed to define the base technical configuration for both riders.
At the end of the two days, Maverick had ridden a total of 170 laps, the best at a time of 1'38.678, whereas Aleix did 112 laps with his best stopping the clock at 1'38.569.
Aleix Espargaró (bike no. 41): “We can consider ourselves ready for the first race of the season. Once again today, despite some problems with my right arm, I was able to be fast, limiting my activity to shorter runs.
Overall, we worked well during these two days. The package we have available is still not perfect, but it is a good starting point. Tomorrow morning I’ll go to the Dexeus Clinic in Barcelona straight away for a series of tests and, if necessary, I’ll undergo surgery immediately so I can fully recover before the race here in Portimão.”
Maverick Viñales (bike no. 12): “Two positive days, I’d say just like all of our preparation for the championship season. I felt really good yesterday, also in terms of lap times, whereas today our work was slightly different. I never used the best combination of tyre compounds, turning a lot of laps in less than perfect grip conditions, and I was able to learn a lot that way.
I’d like to always lap at the top, but I'm confident that this type of work will provide us with advantages during a weekend. I can't wait to really get down to business so we can see our level and begin to battle.”
