Espargaro ready to use ride height device ‘every lap’ in the dry

Aleix Espargaro has arguably made the biggest step forward of any rider in wet conditions since last weekend’s Styrian MotoGP, as the Aprilia rider went from finishing 23rd in a similarly wet conditioned FP2 session to P3 today. 

Espargaro was especially strong at the beginning of the session when the track was at its wettest point. 

The Spanish rider credited changes to the ‘length of the bike’ and with the ‘geometry’, following a start to FP1 which saw the 32 year-old lose dry track time due to a mechanical issue. 

"It has been not an easy day for me. The plan was to do a long run at the beginning of FP1, but we had a small problem that forced me to stop in the garage and then use the second bike,” said Espargaro.  

"But even like that I managed to be strong, to be fast in both sessions - in the top five which is positive. 

"And what makes me more happy is that last Friday in the wet sessions I finished last I think, but today I was third. But especially the first run where it was full wet. 

"I was in the top six, top eight, and we changed a lot the bike. We changed a lot the length of the bike and with the geometry, so I’m very happy with the changes we did." 

Espargaro was unable to use the Aprilia’s ride height device in qualifying or the race last weekend, something he's ready to do ‘every lap’ this weekend, permitting it’s dry. 

"Regarding the ride height device… no, no I didn’t use it in the wet. I think on the wet it is not easy to use and it is quite new for us and we still need to discover a bit in the dry. 

"But in the dry I use it every single lap in the morning, so I’m very happy because I didn’t use it on the qualifying last weekend and even in the race, so this weekend I think I’m ready to use every lap."