Espargaro: I push, push, push… we need something big

Aleix Espargaro has once more lamented the lack of progress being made by the Aprilia team as he once more felt the effects of his bike’s lack of power during practice for the Catalunya MotoGP.

Espargaro, who together with his brother Pol grew up in the Montmelo area around the Circuit de Catalunya, was only 15th fastest in second free practice, with team-mates Andrea Iannone 21st and guesting Bradley Smith 24th and last.

With Aprilia the only manufacturer not to feature inside the top ten in FP2, Espargaro again pointed to the lack of ‘bottom power’ as the reason why his RS-GP remains off the pace of its rivals. However, he was also at pains to stress his growing frustration at repeating his own criticisms with no apparent solution in sight.

“I don’t know, difficult to say,” he replied after being asked if there was anything more he could do to go faster. “The only thing I can do is push, push, push and that is what I am doing.

“It is not just about the pure power, we are missing a lot of traction and a lot of bottom power, we obviously need something big, new to try because every single race, every session are closer to 15th to 20th than 15th to 10th, it is frustrating.

With Smith’s presence this weekend a prelude to his test outing on Monday where it is hoped Aprilia will bring upgrades, Espargaro is however more cynical about that prospect.

“I would like to think yes [there are improvements], but I know perfectly his test programme and I don’t think we have something different. A small improvement is always welcome and he has something interesting, like a frame, [while] I try also a lower seat…

“But we need an engine with more bottom power this is all. We need a lot more bottom power to crash less in maximum lean angle and use the power to pick up as Honda and Ducati did.”