Aleix 'confident in the potential of this new bike'

Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro will press the reset button after the double DNF disappointment at Jerez and aim for his first MotoGP points of the season at Brno this weekend.

The all-new RS-GP's impressive winter form didn’t materialise in Spain, with Espargaro left 16th on the grid before falling in both events, but he remains 'confident' in the potential of the bike.

"The two races in Jerez did not end the way we had expected. The advantage of the long break is that I'm fully charged with positive energy, so I can’t wait to get back on the track," Espargaro said.

"I am confident in the potential of this new bike. The feeling is good, but we still haven't been able to put it all together.

"The situation at the start of the year obviously didn’t help us, but I will keep pushing anyway and I won’t leave any avenue unexplored."

Team-mate Bradley Smith brought his bike home in both Jerez races, finishing 15th and then 12th while cutting four-seconds off his race time, despite being held up by the Binder-Oliveira turn one incident.

"On paper, Brno seems not to be the best track for Aprilia, but with this new bike it’s hard to make any kind of prediction," he said. "We’ll find decidedly different conditions than Jerez. In any case, the experience gained in the first two races will certainly be helpful.

"The thing that the new RS-GP seems to be lacking the most is time on the track. We were unable to turn as many laps as we would have needed to because of COVID and that forces us to continue development during the races."

That time lost also meant Aprilia took a cautious approach towards its new engine design at Jerez, which Espargaro said was operating well below its maximum limit.

"I like the bike, I feel good, we are just missing power. This is the key point. I think our bike is better or at the same level to our competitors, apart from the engine," he said.