Ready To Fight In The Red Bull Ring Even Though His Leg Still Hurts, Aleix Espargaro: I Feel Good
JAKARTA - Aleix Espargaro still has to endure pain in his leg which he fractured during the Austrian Grand Prix this week. However, it did not dampen the spirit of the Aprilia racer to fight for victory.
The 33-year-old Spaniard crashed during the final practice session of the British Grand Prix, qualified despite a fractured leg and managed to finish P9 at Silverstone.
He stays in second place in the standings with a distance of 22 points from Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo at the top.
"I feel good. Over the last 10 days, I have recovered quite a bit," Espargaro said at a press conference ahead of the Austrian GP on Thursday, quoted by Antara.
"When I walk, it still hurts quite a bit, but luckily I don't have to walk, I have to ride a motorbike, so I don't think it's a problem."
At the 2021 Styria GP, Espargaro finished qualifying in P7 which was Aprilia's best starting position at the Red Bull Ring but failed to finish in the race due to technical problems.
At last year's Austrian GP, he started P8 and slipped to P12 at the start of the race before moving up to P7. Espargaro continued to use slick tires even though it was raining. He had moved up to P2 before dropping his position and finishing P10 which was Aprilia's best result at Spielberg.
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For 2022, the layout of the circuit at Spielberg has been slightly modified with the addition of a chicane after Turn 1.
Espargaro has checked the new track on his bike and has been impressed with the safety side which he sees better with the addition of the chicane.
Although in the previous races Aprilia has not reaped satisfactory results, Espargaro feels significant progress from this year's RS-GP, which makes him the only rider to always finish with points this season.
"The 2022 RS-GP is much better, especially in terms of aerodynamics and also the pure performance of the engine; this bike has a higher engine speed," he said.
"This track is the most demanding on the engine, but the 2022 engine is definitely much better than its predecessor, also in terms of the wheelie with the wings and the braking side of the bike this year is much more effective, so I think it will be a good track for us."
Aprilia is also quite agile to bulldoze the chicane, he said. "I think it will be positive."