The Mandalika circuit posed many challenges for Aleix Espargaró, and not only because of the high temperatures. The race weekend was marked by two consecutive crashes from Friday, which excluded the Aprilia rider from Q2. During the sprint, Aleix could only do better than sixteenth place, constantly battling a lack of grip at the rear of his Aprilia RSGP, a recurring problem this season.
Aleix Espargaró expressed his frustration with this lack of grip: “ I didn’t have any flu all day. Damage, it cost me dearly. As soon as I try to accelerate, I fall. I fell three times, so there wasn’t much I could do. I fight, but I have no speed. » Despite the team’s best efforts to resolve this issue, none of the modifications made to the bike seem to be effective. “ We try a lot of things, but nothing works and we have no grip on the back. I lose the rear when entering, that’s why the bike doesn’t turn and as soon as I accelerate, it skids a lot. »
This lack of grip complicates the fight against the leading teams, in particular Ducatiwho dominate the season by regularly breaking lap records. “ With medium tires in long raceswe cannot follow those who are in front and it’s very strange. This season we don’t seem to be running the rear tire. In this kind of conditions, I suffer a lot, a lot, a lot », added the Catalan pilot.
Aleix Espargaró: « the problem is that we don’t understand why this is happening »
Aleix also highlights the difficulty of understanding the origin of the problem, despite the numerous modifications made to the geometry of the motorcycle and the distribution of loads. “ We have tried many things, but the problem is that we don’t understand why this is happening. We try the geometry, to put more load at the front, at the rear, to raise the bike, to make it longer, shorter, but nothing really affects the tire. »
The situation ofAleix Espargaró therefore remains delicate, and despite a victory in Barcelona earlier in the season, the driver recognizes that this performance was lucky and does not reflect the real potential of his
Aprilia This year. “ In Barcelona I won because there were a few crashes in front of me.
Otherwise I wouldn’t have won this race. Even in Barcelona I felt that I was really at the limit.
This year I’m suffering from a big lack of grip. »
Aleix and his team will have to redouble their efforts to resolve this chronic problem and regain competitiveness against
Ducati during the next rounds.
MotoGP, Indonesia: Starting grid
MotoGP, Indonesia Sprint: classification
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