Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro said his new team-mate Andrea Iannone could face difficult situations during his first season with the Italian manufacturer.
Iannone departed the Suzuki MotoGP team at the end of this season. The Italian rider has endured a trouble time since joined the Japanese manufacture for the start of the 2017.
He failed to score a podium last year, ending up 13th in the championship, and upturn in form at the start of 2018.
“Iannone has shown he can fight for victory with the Suzuki and the Ducati. This will allow us to understand the level of the Aprilia and if we are able to improve the level of the bike.” Espargaro said.
“The problem is that keeping your level and not feeling frustrated when you are always behind is not easy. For Andrea it won’t be easy, but he will be very useful for Aprilia.
“With two strong riders that work in the same direction, you can achieve your goals faster and go further. From the start, Andrea has used the same package as me and has found identical problems.
“It’s good thing, because we know where we need to work. Last year we didn’t have a test team and my team-mate was further away, so it was difficult to improve the bike on my own. Now we have a test rider like Bradley Smith, who is good rider, and Andrea who is a strong rider.” Espargaro added.
Andrea Iannone joins Aprilia from Suzuki. (Source:www.blogotomotifindomoto.com)
For the Spaniard, a P10 finish and 55 laps completed signalled a solid day’s work as he ended the two days at the Valencia test. Espargaro – alongside Iannone, was on the same chassis as the one Aprilia introduced at Philip Island, with both working on the 2019 RS-GP.
“The chassis didn’t convince me at all, but we’ll try it again at Jerez. We have continued to work with the new engine and it’s a bit better.” Espargaro said.
“We have to work on the engine braking, because I can’t stop the bike how I would like. I hope that with the geometry we can find a better weight balance at the rear and that with the electronics we have improved the engine braking.” Espargaro added.
