With the Aragón result filed away satisfactorily, Aprilia takes on the first round of the MotoGP Far East tour. The final European GP was the best weekend of this season for the RS-GP machines: Espargaró and Iannone through to Q2 and then, in the race, Aleix’s seventh place just five seconds from the podium and Andrea’s eleventh place despite pain in his shoulder that had kept him from racing in Misano just a week prior.

However, the first overseas round at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram (Thailand) poses a new challenge for the Italian bikes on asphalt that has proven to be demanding for riders and mechanics. The high temperatures combined with a unique layout require a particular fine tuning which is a compromise between the stability required by the fast initial part and the agility that is so essential on the turns.