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MOTOGP 2022 – PREVIEW GP 5 PORTUGAL

APRILIA RACING EMBARKS ON THE EUROPEAN MOTOGP TOUR WITH ALL HANDS ON DECK. ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, MAVERICK VIÑALES, AND WILD CARD LORENZO SAVADORI ON TRACK IN PORTIMÃO

20 April 2022, Portimao (Portugal) - After a first part of the season on strictly non-European circuits, MotoGP heads to Europe for the Portuguese round at Autodromo do Algarve. A breathtaking track, the only one of its kind, and particularly loved by the riders in the premier class precisely for this reason.

Source of image: www.motogp.com

In the Aprilia camp, after Aleix’s positive start and Maverick’s signs of growth, everyone is impatient to tackle the upcoming races. In fact, Portimão will be followed up straight away by Jerez de la Frontera to provide important feedback on the condition of the riders and the 2022 RS-GP.

From left: Savadori, Espargaro’, Viñales.

In addition to all this, it will be the first wild card of the season for Aprilia Racing test rider Lorenzo Savadori who will then accompany the Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing circus to the next round in Spain as well.

Aleix Espargaró (bike no. 41):We are coming from a different sort of track where even in terms of settings, we had to stray from our normal base. Portimão, on the other hand, is somewhat of a ‘classic’ track, so I can’t wait to ride the new RS-GP with the configuration that made us competitive in the first three rounds of the season.

We are well aware that the season is entering its most important stage with our arrival in Europe. We have a string of races one right after the other ahead of us where we’ll need to keep up the rhythm. Expectations are high because we are the first ones to raise the bar for ourselves.”

Maverick Viñales (bike no. 12): With every race, we take steps forward, small, but consistently and in the right direction. I feel more and more at ease with the bike and the team. In terms of race pace and tyre management over race distance, we have really achieved an outstanding level even if, up to now, race results have been conditioned by our spot on the starting grid.

All the riders are fast in the early stages of the race and starting from behind costs us time, a few tenths, which become fundamental in the overall picture of over twenty laps. We need to work on qualifying. This is one of the last pieces that still need to fall into place for us.

LORENZO SAVADORI (bike no. 32): It’s been a while since I’ve ridden in a race, and I can’t wait for Friday! We’ve already done some tests with the new bike, but I'm curious to put it to the test with the factory riders. Our wild cards are targeted specifically to continue developing the RS-GP, as are the private tests, and that’s the goal we’ll continue to aim for in Portimão and Jerez.

APRILIA MOTOGP 2022:
www.aprilia.com/en_EN/aprilia-racing/moto-gp-2022