Aleix Espargaro “welcomes” difficult 2024 Aprilia: “Important thing is we are faster”
Aleix Espargaro doesn’t care that the 2024 Aprili💫a RS-GP is ‘difficult’ to ride: ‘The important thing is that we are faster’.
168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro says he doesn’t care that the raft of aerodynamic updates for🉐 the 2024 Ap🍎rilia MotoGP machine make it more 'difficult' to ride.
All that matters to th🦩e Spaniard is how fast it is.
And having been the top non-Ducati with fifth at the Sepang test, then third in Qatar - when he also set a s🉐earing Sprint simulation until a fall - Espargaro is giving the new machine a warm welcome.
“It’s not an easy bike. I would say the 2024 is one of the most difficult I have had to ride, but at the same time it is more competꦦitive. So, welcome!” he smiled.
By diffic🎃ult, Espargaro means that, 🦋“Due to the downforce the bike is quite heavy.
"I don’t know i♔f heavy is the right word, but to change direction and to throw the bike in [to the corners], sometimes if you don’t have the right grip then you have to forc෴e it so much.
“So it is not easy to understand how to do it, 🤪but at th൩e end of the day, the important thing is that we are faster.
“I’m super-happy," he added⛄. "It is just testing but I am enjoying a lot 🃏this year. I really like the ’24 spec bike. Malaysia and Qatar are completely different circuits, completely different grip and I’m fast.
“For the ti🍷me attack I need to improve a bit but in terms of pace with used tyres I’m very strong.”
Espargaro explained that it’s difficult to pinpoint one sဣpecific area of progress, but: “The [static] we𒁃ight of the bike is a bit less. The rigidity of the chassis is a bit different. The aerodynamics is completely different.
“Everything has been updated but the aerodynamics is obviously the 🔜biggest thing you can see.
“Especially in terms of stability, the𒈔 bike has improved a lot. A lot. With used tyres it is a lot easier to maintain the lap time so this is very good. Just sometimes when there is not a lot of grip, it is difficult to understand how to ride the bike because you have to force it a lot more.”
Otherwise, Espargaro’s only technical concern is engine performance, while it remains꧃ to be seen how the ’24 RS-GP will perform in a 'real' race situati♈on.
But as testi🐼ng concluded it was a case so far, so go🦄od.
“If you are fast from the beginning on two completely different tracks [Sepang and Qatar] then this is positive. They don’t give points fo🌞r testing but it is always importa🏅nt to feel good.”
The season-op꧒ening Qatar Grand Pr⛄ix starts on Friday.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and 🌌has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
