After the test days in Sepang, Espargaro analyses the progress, but also the problems of the Aprilia – Vinales admits that his acclimatisation process is still ongoing
Aprilia continued to be competitive on the final day of MotoGP testing in Sepang, Malaysia. Aleix Espargaro remained under the previous unofficial lap record. In second place, the Spaniard missed the next best time by just 0.026 seconds. And Maverick Vinales finished Sunday tied for fifth with Suzuki rider Alex Rins.
“I wanted to go 1:57, but I got to the limit and made small mistakes,” Espargaro described. “That’s why it didn’t work out. But we are strong and we showed that we are there. Apart from the fast lap, the consistency was also good. “
“We showed a good performance. The bike is definitely better. We will see if it is enough in the races. Realistically, we can only compare ourselves with ourselves. My race simulation has become faster in principle, although the tyres are practically the same.”
“In the long run, the bike handles the rear tyre differently and I can take the corners faster. The tyre wear is completely different. I did twelve laps in a row and the pace was not bad. I could feel the difference from last year. “
High corner speed causes vibrations
Aprilia compared two different chassis at Sepang. Which one is better overall is yet to be determined. “I like the turning the best,” Espagaro holds. “The bike is narrower and more agile, but we have a lot of chatter. We have to work on that. “
“From the first lap I felt better cornering on this track. But that also causes problems because I can take an incredible amount of speed in the fast corners. It’s crazy! This creates chattering. “
“With this bike it is impossible to go far in a corner. You can ride as much speed as you want. It’s incredible how well the bike deflects! But you have to slow down a bit at the entrance of the corner so the vibrations aren’t so strong. “
Aprilia has tried to get a grip on the chattering in lean angles with a different weight distribution and geometry. So far without success. “Maverick said that he had no chattering here with the Yamaha. With Aprilia I always had chatter here,” Espargaro notes.
Why Espargaro is worried
Although Aprilia uses a V4 engine with a 90 degree opening angle between the cylinder banks, the engineers seem to have found a turning behaviour similar to that of the in-line four-cylinder engines. Aprilia does not have the engine power as the V4 competition.
Could the weaker acceleration plus the need for high corner speed become a problem for Aprilia in the races? “Yes, I am worried about that,” admits Espargaro. “I can do the corners very fast. “
“But behind a Ducati, Honda and KTM you can’t ride that style. They slow you down in the middle of the corner because their bikes don’t steer as well. But they have more power. If I don’t start from pole position, then it will be difficult.”
But overall, the Spaniard is happy with the progress: “In Malaysia we showed that the performance is quite okay. But it’s just a test. Every brand tests many things. We made a good step forward. Now a new track is waiting for us. “
Vinales: adaptation to Aprilia takes longer than expected
Teammate Vinales was also competitive at Sepang. However, the second Spaniard is keeping a low profile at Aprilia. He still doesn’t completely understand the RS-GP because he doesn’t yet know the limit, especially on a qualifying lap
Is his adjustment process to the Aprilia taking longer than expected? “Much longer,” admits the former Suzuki and Yamaha rider. “I expected the bike to suit me much better. I have to get used to this engine because it is very different to ride. “
“I feel better with the rhythm for the long run than on a flying lap. I still lack that. I don’t know the limit of the bike yet. It’s about adapting to the bike. I have to push at the right moments.”
“Sometimes I do that wrong and make mistakes. That happened to me today in the qualifying lap. There are six riders in a tenth of a second. I have to push and get everything out of the bike. I hope I will be ready in Qatar. If not, I should be able to do it by Jerez. By then I should know the bike well. “
