MotoGP | Barcelona GP Day 1: A.Espargarò, “We found very little grip”

After a promising FP1, full of good indications and ending close to the top ten, Aleix Espargaró encountered unexpected difficulties in the second session characterized by great heat on the Catalan track.

The changed temperature conditions resulted in a situation of poor grip for the RS-GP number 41 and the various setting and tire tests were to no avail. Aleix was among the very few not to improve on his morning time and ended the day with the 17th time in 1'40.388. The attack on the noblest areas of the ranking is therefore postponed until tomorrow, to the FP3 session which, as always happens, will be decisive for direct access to the second qualifying. Scott Redding, also delayed by a fall, without consequences for the rider, finished the combined event in 23rd place in 1'40.815.

Here are the words of Aleix Espargarò: “In the morning I felt good but in the afternoon I found myself with very little grip both on the front and on the rear tyre. I tried all three rear tire options and the two front ones but we didn't find a solution that works well. It's a very strange sensation, of little control at the front when I close the throttle. In the morning I started with a setting similar to the one used at Mugello but in the afternoon everything changed and I switched to a different setting, so now it's a matter of analyzing the data carefully to understand which direction to go for tomorrow."

Here are Scott Redding's words: “Today I lapped a lot, without making too many changes and trying various types of tyres. I felt quite good on the hard tires, even if we suffer a bit when braking. Overall the biggest difficulty is the speed on the single lap, there isn't much difference between a lap with used or new tyres, and it's an aspect I want to improve. The fall was strange, I was just off the line and as soon as I let go of the brake I lost the front."