Everything seems to be going well for Aleix Espargaró as far as the new bike is concerned, with the Aprilia Racing rider very satisfied with the performance of this year’s RS-GP, without forgetting that it is also one of the most difficult bikes to ride.
Third on the first day of testing in Qatar, the #41 didn’t hide his happiness with the work done, even if there are points to improve: ‘I’m super happy. It’s just a test but I’m having a lot of fun this year and I really like the 2024 bike. The Malaysian circuit and this one are completely different in terms of grip, I’m fast and I’m having fun especially in terms of pace. I think I have and I can improve a bit in terms of attacking the times, but the pace on used tires is very strong, so I’m happy’.
The Spaniard pointed out some differences from the previous model of the Italian bike and didn’t shy away from calling it one of the most difficult to ride… but also the best: ‘It’s always difficult to judge just one thing… there’s less weight, the rigidity of the chassis and the swingarm is a bit different, the aerodynamics are completely different, everything has been updated and the aerodynamics are obviously the biggest thing you can see, but in terms of stability the bike has improved a lot. With used tires it’s much easier to maintain lap times and that’s very good. Sometimes when there isn’t a lot of grip, as was the case at the start of the day, it’s difficult to understand how to ride the bike because you have to push a lot harder, it’s not an easy bike and, by the way, the 2024 bike is one of the hardest I’ve ever ridden, but at the same time it’s more competitive’.
Espargaró also spoke about a previously mentioned characteristic of the bike: ‘Due to the downforce the bike is very heavy… I don’t know if heavy is the right word, but changing direction, throwing the bike… Sometimes if you don’t have the right grip you have to force the bike and it’s not easy if you don’t have grip at the back. It’s not easy to understand how to do it, but at the end of the day the most important thing is to have a competitive bike’.