MotoGP | United States, QP: Espargarò, “Very difficult day”

It will be an uphill race that awaits Aleix Espargaró and his RS-GP tomorrow at the Circuit of the Americas. A series of unfortunate circumstances prevented the Spanish driver from taking part in the Q1 qualifying round which, after the convincing performances offered in the first two GPs of the season, he faced with the ambition of accessing the subsequent Q2. Instead, a failure stopped him right in the final phase of the last free practice (FP4) and he finished in twelfth place, with minimal gaps from the top positions in the standings.

The diagnostic system shut down the engine and the problem is now under investigation by the team, probably a trivial mix-up but enough to stop the RS-GP number 41 just a few minutes before the start of the decisive session. Having climbed onto the second bike, Aleix fell during his first good lap, a crash with no consequences for the rider but which in fact denied him even a single lap, relegating him to the last place in tomorrow's start. Still at the bottom, however, Sam Lowes.

Here are the words of Aleix Espargarò: “Today was perhaps the most difficult day for me since I've been in MotoGP: two crashes in FP3, a technical problem and then another crash in qualifying. We have to work, our bike doesn't seem to digest potholes well and this creates problems in all phases of riding. Despite what happened today, I'm sure that tomorrow's race will be fun, and even starting from behind I will aim to fight for a top-10 finish."

Here are Sam Lowes' impressions: “Let's say one of the good things about today is that tomorrow could go surprisingly well! The conditions were not the easiest, this morning the temperature was low and even in the afternoon it didn't improve much. The different rubber options have a precise temperature range within which they perform at their best, understanding this and choosing the right one at the right time is essential. Given the time lost in the two sessions, I used qualifying as a test session, remaining on the track for the entire time without returning to change tyres. However, I'm happy with my pace, the RS-GP is probably the bike that performs best on used tires and this will help us tomorrow."

Photo: A. Farinelli