Aprilia's Progress Gives Positive Energy To The American GP, Espargaro: In The Past I Dreamed Of Winning, Now I Can

Aleix Espargaro (Instagram.com/@aleixespargaro)

JAKARTA - Aleix Espargaro said the United States Grand Prix this time will feel different considering the progress made by Aprilia and the first MotoGP victory he won last week in Argentina.

The Circuit of the Americas track has been re-paved to eliminate some of the bumpy sections of the track and the Spaniard is sure to be a serious challenger given the current performance of the Aprilia RS-GP.

"In the past I dreamed I could win, now I know I can," said Espargaro at a pre-race press conference in Austin, Thursday local time.

"This weekend will not be easy for me because last year we were very overwhelmed at this track," said Espargaro, who during the US race in October last year had five crashes.

Espargaro arrived in Austin with high confidence as the leader of the standings while Aprilia's performance was very competitive in the opening three races of this year's season.

"I feel good with this new bike, he is much better. The proof is that I was able to overtake Jorge (Martin) with his Ducati on the straights, so this means Aprilia has developed a lot and this gives me a lot of positive energy for this race."

Espargaro will try to meet Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir, Alex Rins, Francesco Bagnaia, and Brad Binder who may be his main competitors, including Marc Marquez who has been declared fit to return to racing in Austin.

Marquez is the 'master' of the circuit in Texas after presenting Honda with seven victories at COTA.