‘Not beautiful, but effective!' - Old school Aleix fastest for Aprilia

The 33-year-old, the oldest full-time rider on the grid, believes one of the secrets to his speed in the slippery conditions was his old school body-on-the-bike and less lean angle style.

While increasing edge grip has seen many riders lean their bikes ever more, dragging elbows and almost shoulders in some corners, Espargaro feels he was getting more acceleration.

“I like when it's super hot and slippery,” Espargaro said after topping the timesheets by just 0.002s from team-mate Maverick Vinales.

“I think also my riding style - that sometimes is not the most beautiful out there - allowed me to accelerate with the bike at some degrees less [lean] than the others. I think in the central part of the tyre there is more grip, more traction.”

Pressed on whether he feels he suffers in some areas because of his style, the Spaniard revealed:

“We try to analyse a lot in Aprilia… On the right corners, I stay more on the bike than the left, but when there are more right corners, I’m faster! And when there are more left corners, like America, I’m slower.

“So I lean less in the right [corners] but it looks like it's not that bad with this bike. I create a bike to accelerate, so I don't really need to lean that much.”

The formation of a satellite Aprilia team, run by RNF, has also allowed Espargaro to compare his style with the extreme lean of Raul Fernandez.

“If you analyse the riding style of Raul [Fernandez], I love it," Espargaro said. "But he spins a lot because he really leans a lot the body and as soon he touches the throttle, he has a lot of spin, a lot of problems the throttle.

“So yes, [my style] is not beautiful, but it's effective!”

While Fernandez was 14th on Friday using the 2022 spec Aprilia, Vinales’ near equal speed to Espargaro underlined the latest RS-GP can work with multiple riding styles.

“The bike is better everywhere,” acknowledged Espargaro, explaining how the latest Aprilia felt compared with the bike he took to third place last year.

“It's a little bit better on the aerodynamics. On the turning. A little bit better to stop, although we have to still work there. We have some ideas for tomorrow to try to stop better the bike.

“The traction is good when it's hot like this and the engine revs a little bit more. So in some places that last year I touch the [rev] limiter, this year I have a little bit more margin, so the bike is good and I feel good in Jerez.

“We were fast here last season and I had the feeling that this year we are stronger and faster than last year, so it's good to reconfirm that.”

But after a tough start to the season, without a podium in either the Saturday or Sunday races., Espargaro was cagey on being called the favourite for tomorrow’s Sprint.

“Yes, we are very strong not just for the fast lap, but also with the medium tyres. But there are many talented riders that can still be in the front,” Espargaro said.

“And you know in Jerez, if someone starts good, even with less pace than the others, if they are in front to manage the tyre pressure behind them is not going to be easy. So you never know…”