APRILIA IMPROVES IN THE MOTOGP TESTS IN QATAR
ALBESIANO: “ALEIX'S SPEED AND THE QUALITY OF OUR PROJECT ARE CONFIRMED. WE ARE CONTINUING TO GROW”
The three days of tests on the Losail track have come to an end, the last tests before the Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing championship begins 26 March on the same track.
The new 2017 Aprilia RS-GP confirmed the growth trend seen in the first two tests at Sepang and Phillip Island. Aleix Espargarò got even closer to the leaders, particularly on the second day of testing when he finished in fifth place, just 66 hundredths from the leader. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Spaniard had what it took today to do even better, but two crashes slowed him down, especially the first which came as Aleix was doing his bests lap, already improved in T1 and his best partial yet in T2. The second crash even forced him to change bikes, removing any chance of lowering his time. Aleix, who also tested the new fairing Aprilia brought in two runs, focused on his race pace, confirming the good feelings he has had since the 2017 bike's début even in this situation. This means that his best time is still 1’55.121, done on Saturday, which earns him twelfth place in the three-day standings.
Sam Lowes, on the other hand, continued his progress with a time of 1’56.167. Also slowed by two crashes today, he finished the tests having done better than the day before. Yet another encouraging sign along the English rider's path to his MotoGP début.