ALEIX IN THE TOP TEN AND ANDREA CLEARLY IMPROVING
That’s a wrap! The opening day of the Australian weekend was positive for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. After a wet FP1 that made things difficult for the RS-GP and its riders, the dry track conditions in the second session allowed Espargaró and Iannone to move up in the standings.
Aleix took a nice tenth place that provisionally puts him through to the Q2 qualifiers with a time of 1’29.791. Andrea showed marked improvement with respect to recent races and, after battling for a position in the top ten that was decidedly within his potential, he finished thirteenth with a time of 1’30.170, just 379 thousandths behind his teammate and the top ten.
Andrea did even better in the special 20-minute session dedicated to testing the new tyres (obviously not valid for the standings) where he finished second, only behind Márquez, with a time of 1’29.421. A good sign for tomorrow’s sessions which will be decisive in establishing the starting grid order.