Aleix Espargaro satisfied with setup for Jerez GP

Cleaning of the Jerez track surface after a crash strewn Moto3 qualifying session meant the final MotoGP practice and qualifying runs were delayed by a few minutes at Jerez on Saturday.

The track temperature in southern Spain was over 50º early on Saturday afternoon and although it did not prevent some hot lap times there were several crashes on a ‘greasy’ surface. Crutchlow, Rossi and Pedrosa all crashed, fortunately without any drastic consequences. For the second consecutive round there are three Spanish riders in the front row and once again that strong top five features the same top names (Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Márquez, Crutchlow and Rossi).

Lorenzo is dominating his birthday weekend and only Pedrosa looks capable of stopping him. The CRT battle is looking interesting with several contenders fighting to be top dog and to challenge the prototypes.

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró, just missed out on Q2 having been knocking on the door in free practice and Q1. Narrowly missing out on making it through to Q2 for the third time Aleix is nonetheless satisfied with his set-up for another strong race on Sunday. A light crash in the morning did not prevent him from improving in every session and the Catalan rider is ready to push for best CRT finish in the race for the third time this season.

13th Aleix Espargaró 1.40.085:
“Yesterday I was hoping I’d make it through to Q2 today. This morning we were close to qualifying but I made a mistake and crashed which cost me time. I gave it my all in Q2 but it was tough, as it was so hot and the bike was really sliding. I just missed out but I’m not worried because we have great pace and our set-up feels good for the race. The heat will make the race seem long and we have to be sure to avoid errors. The track was greasy this afternoon and having seen so many crashes we need to be careful tomorrow in the race.”

Source: Aspar Media