'Shaving a few tenths’ and ‘race pace’ the aim for Espargaro

Aleix Espargaro heads into the second Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix off the back of a seventh place finish at the 2021 season opener. 

But perhaps the bigger takeaway from the result itself, was the confirmation that the Aprilia RS-GP in the hands of Espargaro has made real strides to becoming a more consistent challenger towards the front. 

After an impressive pre-season which had happened before without the results to match, skepticism still remained over Aprilia and whether they were ready to make the next step forward. 

However, after a difficult opening few laps where the 31 year-old lost several positions, Espargaro impressively came through the field to finish the race in seventh, less than six seconds off race winner Maverick Vinales. 

One of the most impressive elements to the result, was Espargaro being able conserve his tyres and make progress, which others stuggled to do. 

This weekend will be another opportunity for Espargaro to make further improvements with the second Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit. 

"The first weekend gave us the feedback we were looking for. We showed, even for those who were sceptical, that we have taken a step forward in the race, as well as in practice," said Espargaro.  

"We still have room to grow and the double round here in Doha will give us a chance to continue improving the RS-GP. 

"Goals? Shaving off a few tenths in qualifying and increasing race pace. Getting even closer to the leaders would mean battling for an important result. 

"It won’t be easy. Everyone will have the chance to improve, including solving some problems they had in the first race, so I expect the competition to be even fiercer."