Bittersweet Saturday for the Noale house
Seventh place for Maverick Viñales at the end of the Mandalika Sprint, nothing particularly exciting for Aprilia, which however remains tied to KTM in the fight for second place in the Manufacturers’ standings. The future KTM rider has to complain about two yellow flags in Q2 which prevented him from targeting the first or second row. A more complicated day however for Aleix Espargarò, who crashed in Q1 and out of Q2. Below are their words and also those of the technical manager Romano Albesiano.
Maverick Viñales: “In Q2, I was penalized by the two yellow flags just as I was doing the flying lap, I could have been on the first or second row. I’m satisfied because we achieved a good comeback result, it’s a shame we weren’t able to start from the front. I defended myself well and fought, and then maintained a good pace and had an improving race. I can’t wait to run the long race“.
Aleix Espargarò: “In FP1 I was fast with the used tire, but then everything got complicated in Q1 with the crash. I still have no grip and so when I try to push, I fall. Starting so far back, the sprint was difficult“.
Roman Albesian: “A good performance by Maverick, unfortunately ruined by the yellow flags in qualifying. Despite this, he made a good start and maintained a very consistent pace which gives us hope for the long race. Aleix also suffered due to his starting position and his race suffered as a result. It’s a shame for Raúl who, despite the fall at the start, showed a very interesting pace, giving us positive signs for the long race“.
#Vinales #yellows #started #row
