Viñales goes into Q2
The one-two achieved in Barcelona and the landing after less than a week on the track of Misano Adriaticin the second round of the season in Italy, had laid the foundations for increasing enthusiasm at home Aprilia, determined to relaunch positive signals already from the first tests on Friday. A goal, however, only partially successful, and thanks to Maverick Viñales: the Spaniard initially signed the 7th time in PL1, only to then make up for it with interest in the decisive session for direct access to Q2 of tomorrow, in which he will take part thanks to the second best overall performanceone tenth behind the leader Marco Bezzecchi and three thousandths ahead of Dani Pedrosa’s KTM, present for the San Marino GP as a wild card.
Espargarò out
Different speech, however, for the winner of the last Catalan Grand Prix, that is Aleix Espargarò: after the ninth place in the morning’s practice, the #41 was in fact unable to re-enter the top 10 of the drivers who will have the right to fight for pole position without going through Q1, thanks to a disappointing twelfth position. The end result, however, was also the result of a bad fall which took place right in the final moments of the session, during which the Spaniard was pushing to try and hit Q2, with the goal however lost by just 0.83 seconds.
The risk for the weekend
However, the element that generates the most concern in the Noale team is not the result, but the consequences of the accident: after the incident, in fact, Dr. Angel Charte visited the Spanish driver, finding a whiplash which will require absolute rest until tomorrow morning. Shortly before the start of FP2, scheduled for 10:10, Espargarò will undergo another exam which will establish the rider’s conditions, with the risk that the Iberian could be declared unfit for the rest of the weekend: “It was a bad fall unfortunately, i have a lot of pain in my neck and it was certainly not the best start to the weekend – has explained – I didn’t have a good feeling today, I suffered a lot from the vibrations which prevented me from being precise in my riding. I was pushing to get into the top 10 and straighten out the day but it wasn’t enough. Now I’ll try to rest and recover as much as possible, I’ll do everything to get back on track in the morning”.
The goal of qualifications
More serenity, however, for Viñales, satisfied with Friday’s results and optimistic in anticipation of qualifying: “I’m really happy with this day, it’s a pleasure to be able to ride like this – commented – I felt at ease right from the first lap, I immediately felt the same good sensations of the past GPs and this constant performance helps me gain more and more confidence. We already have good pace and we were also fast in the time attack, so I’m optimistic in view of tomorrow’s qualifying. The goal is the front row“.
#Halfway #Aprilia #Viñales #flies #Espargarò #risk #FormulaPassion