Ducati monopolized the podium in both races at Misano, with Jorge Martin dominating on the Pramac team’s Desmosedici and also leading a Ducati hat-trick in qualifying. This contrasted with the previous week’s Catalan Grand Prix, in which Aprilia won both races with Aleix Espargaro and dominated with an RS-GP double on the podium on both Saturday and Sunday.
Having struggled and finished the race in 12th place at Misano after a bad start, Espargaro believes it was the nature of the Romagna track that contributed to the gap between Aprilia and Ducati, but that overall the RS-GP is better. When asked if Ducati was the best bike on the grid after Misano, the Spaniard said: “Here yes, in general no.”
“I mean, when there isn’t as much grip at the front and we can release the front brake earlier, for example in the race, at turn 13 I was faster than the riders in front of me, but it’s only one corner on this track where I can release the front brakes, unfortunately. So, on this type of track, Ducati and KTM are better than Aprilia. On a track where it is possible to release the front brake, maintain speed through corners and accelerate slowly, Aprilia is better”, explained the Granollers rider going into detail.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Aprilia Racing
Espargaro was unable to make any progress with his RS-GP after crashing to the back of the grand prix. Although he joins Marc Marquez in deploring the current MotoGP regulations which make racing on narrow circuits “impossible”, Espargaro admitted that Aprilia needs to improve its engine to find more torque and have a better chance of overtaking.
“We need to improve our engine, because on stop-and-go tracks like this (Misano, ed), with a lot of grip, we need more torque,” he explained. “I didn’t overtake anyone during the whole race and it’s a shame. We were like a train from fifth to 13th or 14th position. We were four seconds away and I couldn’t overtake anyone.” Aleix Espargaro is currently fifth in the standings, although 153 points behind championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
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