Even last year, the Aprilia riders suffered from the extreme heat development of the RS-GP – in Misano, the problem was recently exacerbated again
Aprilia had nothing to gain from the first MotoGP weekend in Misano. It was not only the lack of consistency on the brakes that caused the riders problems, but above all the heat in the sprint – the heat that came from the RS-GP
“We suffered a lot from the heat. That was one of our biggest problems,” said Aleix Espargaro, who finished twelfth – just behind team-mate Maverick Vinales.
“Maverick and I reached our physical limit towards the end of the race, which is strange because it wasn’t that hot,” said the Spaniard. Although the thermometer scratched the 30-degree mark on Saturday in Misano, the competition didn’t mind much, if at all, in contrast to the Aprilia squad.
But Espargaro explains: “It seems to be worse with the new fairing than with the old one as far as the temperature is concerned. That’s why I’m a little worried about the next races.” After all, those race tracks where it often gets tropically hot, such as Indonesia or Thailand, are yet to come.
In Thailand last year, the riders were already complaining about the extreme heat development of the Aprilia. The fact that this pushed them to their limits in the sprint in Misano is food for thought.
“It was hard to finish the sprint at all,” says Miguel Oliveira from Trackhouse-Aprilia. “The heat we get from the bike is incredible. The bike has become much more physical. It was just unbelievably hot.”
“And if the heat of the bike affects us,” adds Espargaro, ‘then it also affects the tires, the brakes, all these components. ’
His team-mate Vinales is also hoping for an improvement soon. “I’m really worried about the heat races,” he says. “Even in Austria it was difficult to finish the race. Now it was the case again here in the sprint.”
“The problem is that when you ride on the straights, the heat goes straight to the back of your neck. After five or six laps, you find it harder and harder to breathe. I don’t know what we can do,” muses the Spaniard about the existing heat problem.
“Mandalika is a bit different because we don’t have a long straight there. So your body is more next to the bike. But in Buriram it becomes critical with the long straight,” believes Vinales. “I’ve never had any problems, but now I’m struggling with it, especially when breathing. “
