POSITIVE START FOR APRILIA IN SILVERSTONE

MAVERICK THIRD IN THE FIRST TWO SESSIONS
PROVISIONAL FIFTH PLACE FOR ALEIX

The first two sessions after the long summer break for MotoGP had the Aprilia riders consistently among the best. In Silverstone, Maverick took the third best time in the combined standings, whereas Aleix is fifth, just 30 thousandths behind his teammate. This gap is an accurate representation of the situation on the track, characterised by the usual close standings, with 16 riders all within less than one second of one another.

Viñales found good sensations straight away on a track that is very much to his liking, proving to be incisive both over multiple laps and in the time attack at the end of the FP2 session. The Spanish rider has achieved a good feeling with his RS-GP that makes him optimistic for an important result in qualifying tomorrow.

Aleix, always among the fastest in race set-up, only gave up a few positions on the fast lap on soft tyres. But, given the very small gap, he doesn't see any result precluded for tomorrow's qualifying.

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"We got off on the right foot. I was only lacking a bit with the soft tyre but if we consider the gaps, we’re talking about thousandths of a second, so I’m not worried. The Aprilia is working well, as we expected, and along with Maverick, we did a good job that helped both of us. All that’s left now is to keep moving in this direction. The goal for qualifying is the front row, but it won’t be easy. There are a lot of extremely fast riders on this track."

MAVERICK VIÑALES
"I arrived confident here in Silverstone, a track that I’ve always liked, and indeed, the weekend began extremely well! We worked hard throughout the first part of the season and we’re reaping the fruits of those labours now. I’m happy that I felt comfortable in the saddle straight away. From the very first laps, the sensations were good and we were able to do a good job, both in terms of race pace and on the time attack in the finale of the FP2 session. Now we just need to keep it up. We are well aware of how important qualifying is ahead of the race and the goal for tomorrow is to take a spot on one of the front two rows."