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Fourth in the morning and then seventh in the afternoon, Aleix Espargaro concluded the first day of action at Jerez de La Frontera by accomplishing the set goal of being steady in the top 10.
"Not always being in the top 10 is equivalent to having been fast, but today I am happy because with the medium tire I turned out to be one of the fastest of the group. Also, the pace was not bad even with the softs. Maybe I was not perfect on the fast lap, but overall it went well and I felt competitive again," he said.
The Aprilia in the hands of the rider from Granollers felt very stable in turns 11 and 12. "Yes, those are the points where I make the difference. I can be fluid and release the front brake. Turn 5 also sees me particularly competitive. I have to say I love that kind of change of direction. I think here, at Le Mans, Mugello and Barcelona there will be fun to be had by having similar characteristics," he admitted.
Can Vinales in a state of grace be an example to follow?
"Even in Aragon at Maverick's debut on the RS-GP and even though I was a second on the fastest lap, I looked at his data, because there is always an area where you can improve. The great thing about this team is that the information is usable, the two sides of the box are on very good terms and there is a lot of dialogue. If, as I hope will happen this year, we are in the title fight, it is better to work together."
After nicheing about the new features tried in the morning he commented, "Until a couple of months ago Ducati seemed to be on another planet, but now we as a team are much closer. We still do not know if our potential is enough to fight for the World Championship, however, we are not very far away. Today it was strange not to see any KTM in front, but it is still early. They then on this track have tested many times and collected quite a lot of data."
With the lower temperatures what can be expected?
"I hope it will help to have two eventful races because this circuit deserves it. We are trying to find ways to better manage tire pressure and temperature through some new components and it seems to be working. Will Savadori's presence weigh in? Not really, he is trying several new things. If they give positive results we will also try them as officers on Monday," he concluded.
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