TOP TEN ONCE AGAIN FOR APRILIA WITH ALEIX ESPARGARÓ ANDREA IANNONE SEVENTEENTH

With a courageous ride, skill and a bit of luck in the last part of the race, Aleix took his second top-ten finish in Argentina after the outstanding début in Qatar. On the starting grid with the soft rear tyre, Aleix stressed the rubber in the first part of the race, moving into tenth place and trying to stay close to the leading group. The gaps actually stayed quite close and the number 41 RS-GP kept Quartararo in its sights, thinking of attacking for better positions in the second half. Instead, tyre wear forced Aleix to ride the latter part of the race on the defence. Overtaken in the finale by his brother, Pol, he did not give up and took the position back on the final lap. Just as he got past him, a double crash gave him a nice ninth-place finish. Andrea and his team, on the other hand, had to reckon with the same difficulties encountered on Saturday which had compromised their qualifiers. Starting from the eighth row, Andrea was never in the conditions to be able to make a comeback. He fought tooth and nail in a race that was certainly difficult, but which also constitutes another step forward in getting to know the bike for him and for his team.

ALEIX ESPARGARO' "I cannot help but to be satisfied, especially if I look at the championship standings, which are what really counts anyway, because being ninth after two races is not bad at all. To be honest, I had hoped to do better, especially in the second part of the race. We were undecided about whether to use the medium or the soft and in the end we chose the soft, but just as I was thinking about going after Quartararo, I felt a clear drop in tyre performance. I started to have a lot of spin and it was impossible to maintain my pace. They were eight very difficult laps, but finishing ninth, even if there was a double crash ahead of me, is not bad at all. Until we are ready for better placements, it will be important to finish the races and collect points."

ANDREA IANNONE "On this track, we struggled in a bit of a strange way, because our difficulties began when the grip increased. Usually, performance increases with more grip, so understanding this anomaly needs to be our primary goal. I’m not worried. I know what my potential is and I have faith in Aprilia’s work. Even today, if I had started a couple of rows farther forward, I would have been able to stay with the group, considering the fact that I lost a lot of ground on the straight without any slipstream."