Espargaró Dominates Medium Tire in MotoGP Practice at Phillip Island

2023-10-20 15:18:27

“I was the fastest driver with the medium tire,” said Aleix Espargaró (34) following Friday’s training. “Almost all the other drivers went out with the soft right from the start. For a long time I concentrated on the set-up work with the harder rubber. That paid off. I was the fastest driver with this tire configuration.”

The meteorologically-related postponement of the GP race to Saturday, with a planned sprint on Sunday, is therefore quite convenient for the three-time GP winner. «I’m glad that I put so much work into the medium. This is of course an advantage for a race on Saturday. But generally speaking, this decision is fair for everyone. This way we can offer the audience a good sow.”

Nevertheless, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the Aprilia factory driver, especially because of some bumps on the track. «I had problems especially in the last corner, I lost a lot of time there, it’s crazy. My best lap was half a second slower than last year, and I practically just lost that time in this bump,” said the Catalan at Turn 12 of the Phillip Island Circuit.

But the problem seems solvable. “This bump caused the RS-GP 23 to turn badly and I got very far out. The dilemma is that this might be solved by using more gas. But that wouldn’t work for the race because the tire wear would then be too great. We still have to analyze that.”

In addition to the problem in the last corner, Espargaró initially also feared problems in the start corner. “This is critical on various tracks, for example at Silverstone. The start device allows us to enter the tight start curve at high speed. But I think with today’s brakes we should have this under control.”

Result MotoGP Practice, Phillip Island (October 20th):

1. Brad Binder, KTM, 1:27,943 min
2. Miller, KTM, + 0,148 sec
3. Viñales, Aprilia, +0.269
4. Martin, Ducati, +0.279
5. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +0.420
6. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.425
7. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +0.509
8. Bastianini, Ducati, +0.510
9. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 0.513
10. Zarco, Ducati, +0.513
11. Bagnaia, Ducati, +0.699
12. Kidneys, Honda, +0.701
13. Augusto Fernández, KTM, + 0.713
14. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, + 0.716
15. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 0,718
16. Marc Márquez, Honda, +0.847
17. Quartararo, Yamaha, + 0,994
18. Mir, Honda, +1,064
19. Marini, Ducati, + 1,221
20. Oliveira, Aprilia, + 1,768
21. Nakagami, Honda, +1,807
22. Morbidelli, Yamaha, + 1,965

Result MotoGP FP1, Phillip Island (October 20th):

1. Martin, Ducati, 1:29.039 min
2. Augusto Fernández, KTM, + 0.720 sec
3. Viñales, Aprilia, + 0.738 sec
4. Brad Binder, KTM, + 1,246
5. Zarco, Ducati, +1,272
6. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +1,395
7. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 1,395
8. Miller, KTM, + 1,414
9. Bastianini, Ducati, +1,425
10. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 1,441
11. Bagnaia, Ducati, +1,479
12. Marc Marquez, +1,575
13. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +1,636
14. Kidneys, Honda, +1,639
15. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, +1,714
16. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +1,780
17. Nakagami, Honda, +1,795
18. Quartararo, Yamaha, + 1,819
19. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +1,901
20. Mir, Honda, +1,933
21. Oliveira, Aprilia, + 2,124
22. Marini, Ducati, + 2,293

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