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Aprilia pace is 'good surprise' says Espargaro

Aleix Espargaro says he is surprised with the progress of the Aprilia as he continues to push the limits of the RS-GP.

The Spanish rider ended the final day of the second MotoGP test of the year at Philip Island in Australia eighth fastest, lapping in 1m 29.361s.

Espargaro is particularly impressed with the stability of the Aprilia, especially under braking on the front in corner entry, and although he didn't feel quite able to push for a single hot lap, the Gresini Racing rider was more than satisfied with his race pace.

Speaking after the morning session on Friday, Espargaro said: "I'm really happy about the long run; unfortunately I cannot do 27 laps because the front tyre is too soft for these conditions. For me the soft tyre is perfect for the race weekend, but now we have 20 degrees more in the asphalt and I feel the front tyre and there is no way to go to 27.

"It is the most important thing for me and last season it was not really consistent, especially on the last laps. I found that in Malaysia this bike, in the last 10 laps, it starts to spin a little but here I am surprised because we improve; I'm not able to go super fast for one lap, but I can manage to go quite fast on a long run," he added.

"This morning I did six or seven laps in the 1'29s, which is great with the Aprilia here in Australia. In the afternoon I will try to be more faster than yesterday over 20 laps."

Espargaro is taking plenty of confidence from the front end of the Aprilia and says he is yet to find the limit in corner entry.

"For me the front [is best point of RS-GP], because it reminds me of Bridgestone/Suzuki; I can brake hard and the bike is really stable. It is also close to the Forward Yamaha bike. Last year the front was my handicap and it was impossible for me to trust in the front - I just crashed and crashed and crashed. With the Aprilia, it looks like every time I can go faster and still not find the limit in the entry with the brakes, so this is great," said Espargaro, who said the improvement was more to do with the RS-GP than the new Michelin tyres.

"Not really because in Valencia for example the race with the Aprilia was quicker than the Suzuki and the tyre was the same, and the tyres are similar from last season. For me the character of this bike is a bike that is not that easy like the Suzuki, and it also looks a little bit physical on the change of direction, but it is really stable. I need to work a little bit more on the bike with my body but the stability is something really positive."

Espargaro used the older engine throughout the Phillip Island test, although he suggested he may try the newer version in the afternoon session.

"No we didn't try the new engine yet but they worked a little bit on the level of the new system because in Malaysia we had a couple of problems with the power delivery.

"But in this track I think it is not really important, the different engine, and it is more important to try in Qatar. But anyway I will try this afternoon. This morning and all the days we were with the old engine," he added.

"This is the bike we tried in Malaysia and we have nothing new yet. We have a swing arm to try, but we will try in Qatar. Also the new engine we tried in Malaysia has a lot more power, but I will try in Qatar. Aprilia is working and at the second test to be two or three tenths off the pace is quite a good surprise."

He also intends to try the new Aprilia fairing again in Qatar to confirm the results of wind tunnel testing in Italy.

"Here is not the best track to understand if the fairing is good or not. We spent one day in the wind tunnel in Italy and the new fairing looked like it had exactly the same speed and a little bit more downforce. I need to try on the track to see if the numbers are correct and I will try in Qatar."

Zdroj: crash.net