Another stop
The pre-season tests at Portimao weren’t particularly positive for two drivers, both of whom were struggling with physical problems or concerns. While Fabio Di Giannantonio had to close Saturday’s practice session prematurely for a routine check-up in hospital after a fall, with tests which fortunately did not reveal any type of injury, the situation instead seems more serious for Aleix Espargarò. The Spaniard from Aprilia, despite not having been the protagonist of an accident or a fall, was forced to stop working on the track due to pain in his right arm.
Risk of surgery
Interviewed by Sky Sports MotoGPthe 33-year-old Iberian specified what would be the basis of the accused pains, so as not to exclude the possibility of surgery on the eve of the world championship: “My right arm is quite inflamed, I have practically no strength to ride and I had to stop yesterday – explained the teammate of compatriot Maverick Vinales – I had the same problem today, so I think the tests are over for us. Looks like I have to operate. Tomorrow morning I have to do some rehearsals at the Dexeus (University Hospital of Barcelona, nda) because there seems to be fibrosis in the muscle: if so, we need to operate immediately tomorrow, but I won’t know until we do all the tests”.
The opinion on Aprilia
Apart from the physical problems, Espargaró also had the opportunity to comment on the potential of the new Aprilia: “What idea have I got? Yes, it’s not bad, but tests are always tests. There are the “test champions”, we know that, but you always have to analyze everything very carefully and see what tires everyone used. We must rest assured, they are only tests, just remember how the world champion started in the tests and in the first races last year. We remain calm and with a great desire to start competing. I hope to be able to use everything we learned last year not only in terms of speed, but also in terms of technique, resources and material. I think I have very intelligent and good engineers next to me, who will also be able to manage the season in a better way than last year. As a driver, I too will have to improve”.
Waiting for news
With the exams scheduled in Barcelona already tomorrow, for Espargarò there is therefore the risk of an operation that could make him miss the first round of the season, scheduled for the weekend of 24 to 26 April on the very same Portuguese circuit where the tests were held pre-seasons.
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