Fifth row start in Qatar for Aleix Espargaro

Aleix Espargaró battled down to the last corner for a spot in Q2, but he came just one step short of achieving the result and, with his third place time in the first qualifying session, he earned the best spot on the fifth row.

The Spaniard was one of the protagonists in the first qualifying session on a track made treacherous by the sand blown in on the wind from the nearby desert. He finished with a time of 1’55.140, half a second from the place which would have taken him through to the next session. The good pace Aleix demonstrated over the weekend leaves the door wide open to doing well in the race tomorrow.

ALEIX ESPARGARO
“With the new engine, my Aprilia took a step forward compared to the pre-season tests, also in terms of top speed. The bike I am riding this weekend has improved significantly with respect to the winter. Now we need to improve with the new tyre in order to shave of those three or four tenths that separate us from the leaders on the flying lap. But for the race tomorrow, I am sure that we will be in the mix. We have a good pace and I think that I’ll be able to battle for the top ten even if all of the riders ahead of us are truly very fast.”