VIÑALES IN EIGHTH, ESPARGARÓ SIXTEENTH AFTER A CONTACT. FERNÁNDEZ IN THE TOP TEN
Maverick Viñales, who started from third on the grid, was unable to pull off a perfect start in the long race, dropping a few positions in the early stages. The Spanish rider hung on in the pack, fighting for fourth position, but had to settle for eighth place at the finish line.
Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaró set off well in the long race, making up several positions. However, a contact at the end of the first lap led to a broken sidepod, compromising his entire performance and sending him to the back of the pack. Despite keeping a similar pace to the riders in the top ten, Aleix was unable to make a comeback and finished in sixteenth place.
Elsewhere, Raúl Fernández also put in a solid performance, consistently managing to finish in the top ten over the Australian race weekend. Starting from sixth on the grid, after completing Q1, he managed to pull off sixth in the sprint and tenth in the long race.
The race went well, we made the most of the potential of the bike, but sadly it just wasn’t enough. My left arm was feeling better, but my back started to hurt. There was no physical limitation, we just couldn’t manage to get enough speed.
I started really well, but unfortunately a contact on the first lap with Jack Miller as I was braking into the 10th corner broke the sidepod, putting me at the back of the pack. Making up ground from so far back is tricky, and of course it affects the outcome of the race. I tried to go as fast as I could; actually, my pace in some of the laps was pretty good. The breakage of the sidepod really didn’t help, especially because it made the bike unstable.
This weekend, we’ve seen good speeds from the Aprilia bikes with both Maverick and Raúl. Again, the first lap was punishing, but the pace required to get closer to the podium was there. The terrible accident in the sprint, when Maverick was unexpectedly hit from behind at 300 km/h, blighted the weekend. Aleix started Friday a bit slow, which is unusual for him. It’s a shame we didn’t manage to get more points here in Australia. Now we’re heading to a track that will give us the opposite conditions, and on paper, they are less than favourable for us, but there’s no doubt that we’ll go with the attitude that we’re not giving up, and with the goal of closing the gap.
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