Espargaro stops early after arm pump problems - ‘I couldn’t even brake’

The Aprilia Racing rider suffered a fall at turn one that saw him aggravate the same ankle he damaged at the British MotoGP during FP4 last season. 

But despite feeling some pain in his left ankle, Espargaro was able to continue before arm pump issues arose during the afternoon. 

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"Yeah I’m okay," Espargaro told MotoGP.com when discussing his accident. "The crash was not huge but then I felt the curve on my left foot and the impact was quite hard. I have quite a lot of pain now as it’s the ankle I damaged at Silverstone. But it’s not a disaster. 

"I had more problems in the afternoon with the right arm and I had a lot of arm pump so I had to stop one hour before the plan [to do so]. 

"I couldn’t even brake. It’s strange that this happened and I didn’t have any problems in Malaysia. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow."

A turn one crash and arm pump problems aside, Espargaro and Aprilia across all their riders looked very competitive, which follows on from their strong showing at Sepang. 

Espargaro added: "Was a positive day. I think I was the only rider in the top 15 that couldn’t use the soft rear tyre because I had to stop early as I couldn’t ride my bike. 

"The gap is not bad and I was one of the fastest with the medium tyre which is good. In Malaysia I struggled a lot with the medium but we worked hard here and this month to load a little bit more the rear. Hopefully with the soft we can fight for the top [position]."

One of the big talking points heading into the Portimao test was that of another variation of Aprilia’s new engine that is expected for 2023.

However, two vital points should be made regarding this, the first of which is that Espargaro did not test it on day-one, nor is that expected during Sunday’s action.

The second point to make is that the new engine, which he confirmed will be used at the season-opener at Portimao on March 24-26, is not a revolution to the latest engine currently being used.

"I think the new engine will be ready for the GP but I don’t think we will be able to test it in the test," said Espargaro. "I don’t think the new engine will be a revolution but we will see during the first race."

What was on show during day-one of the test was Aprilia’s new aero package, while new front winglets hanging from the forks were also revealed as they attempt to close the gap to Ducati.