Espargaro hoping to finish third and final overseas race on a high note
On the Philip Island track in Australia there will be the last of three consecutive Grands Prix between Asia and Oceania this Sunday. The Australian Grand Prix comes just after the Grand Prix of Japan and Malaysia, making this by far one of the longest and hardest months in sports terms for the Pramac Racing Team which collected just seven points in two World Championship races. But the riders and to whole the Team have committed themselves to fight until the end to try and get some good positions. Unfortunately during the last Malaysian Grand Prix Aleix Espargarò crashed on lap 7 when he was having a good lap pace and Mika Kallio’s shoulder pain which prevented him from giving his best has not allowed them both to get better positions. With three races left in the Championship, every opportunity will be used in the best way by the Team to allow both riders to fight for top positions.
Sunday’s race will be the 16th MotoGP Grand Prix to be held on Philip Island’s track, the 22nd of its kind in Australia that also had six races at Eastern Creek in the past. The Pramac Racing Team haven’t got great results in the past in Australia, only two fifth places, both with Barros in the 2007 and in 2004. In recent years, the best result on the ocean track was the ninth place by Mika Kallio last year, when he was the only rider to defend the Team colors.
Aleix has scored here a ninth place in 2008 while he was riding a 250cc, last year he did not take part in the MotoGP race, so he comes here as a complete rookie on this track in this category and like in other tracks he will soon learn the line to follow to be fast from Friday afternoon.
Paolo Campinoti – Team Principal Pramac Racing Team
“European distance doesn’t do anything good for us this year, in two races we have gotten much fewer points than we expected. We have also been unlucky with Aleix’ crash while he was significantly improving his laptime. In Australia the hope is that both can be able to finish the race in the best way and that they can be as competitive as possible.”
Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team
“Doing three races in a row is really tiring, but it should not be an excuse. I never got the possibility to ride with a MotoGP bike on Philip Island’s track, but like other occasions I’ll try from Friday on to better understand the route that I have to follow to be ready for Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session. The circuit is one of the most fascinating and should suit my riding style well enough.”
Source: Pramac Racing Team
