After a difficult weekend at Assen where Aprilia was reduced to just one factory rider, the Italian team is hoping for a “miraculous recovery” for Aleix Espargaró in time for this weekend’s German MotoGP Grand Prix.
Aleix Espargaró fractured the fifth metacarpal in his right hand in a massive crash from sixth place on the final lap of the race Sprint Saturday. The day before, he had fallen heavily on his back in an accident at the final chicane. Although he was declared fit to try his luck during the warm-up ofshaftsthe pain from the hand injury proved too much, forcing him to withdraw from Sunday’s race.
However, the Spanish veteran is determined to return for Friday’s testing at the Sachsenring. Espargaro will undergo “magnetotherapy” to try to speed up the healing process. The team leader, Massimo Rivolasaid : ” now we have to hope for a miraculous recovery for Aleix before the Sachsenring and for Lorenzo Savadori so that he can continue to develop the bike. I hope to see them both back on the track soon. »
Lorenzo Savadorientered as a wild card, will not be able to replace Espargaro if he can’t race this weekend, as he suffered back fractures in the same race on Saturday and is expected to be sidelined for a month.
Massimo Rivola hoped for better from Maverick Viñales’ Aprilia at Assen
This left Maverick Vinales as the sole Aprilia factory team rider in the Dutch Grand Prix, which he finished in fifth place, as the best non-Ducati but 8.258 seconds behind the race winner, Francesco Bagnaia. « After being left from the front line and have obtained an excellent result in the sprint race, we were aiming for a better result” said Rival. « Maverick gave 100 percent, as he did on Saturday, but the gap to the winner was still significant. »
Vinales returned to fifth after a ‘one-place loss’ penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap was effectively waived by Marc Marquez’s subsequent tire pressure penalty.
This result means thatAprilia now takes second place in the constructors’ standings, ahead of KTMwhose best driver was Brad Bindersixth but almost eight seconds behind Vinales. The same one who will drive an RC16 next season in MotoGP, for the team Tech3.
