Aleix: We have to fight for podium again, Aprilia 'on the way'

Having claimed Aprilia's first podium of the four-stroke MotoGP era, Aleix Espargaro is looking to make it back-to-back rostrums at Aragon this weekend.

The Spanish track has been one of his most successful venues on the RS-GP in the past, matching the bike's pre-Silverstone best of sixth place in both 2017 and 2018, plus a seventh in 2019.

"Aragon is a circuit that I like," he confirmed. "We are in a good shape now. The bike is working good. Normally in Aragon the bike is always competitive. We have a fresh engine there. So, let’s see.

"Also, it looks like it’s not the favourite circuit of Fabio, so the race will be a little bit slower," added Espargaro, who finished 4.1s from Yamaha's title leader Quartararo at Silverstone, which equates to just 0.2s a lap.

"We have to fight for the podium again, that’s for sure, but this is what I say every week. Finally now I've finished on the podium, so in Aragon I want more. I feel that we are ready to fight again for the podium."

The big news for Aprilia heading into Aragon is that new signing Maverick Vinales will be making his RS-GP alongside Espargaro. The nine time grand prix winner is joining the Italian factory after a mid-season split from Yamaha.

"If somebody at the beginning of the season told you that you will finish with Yamaha and go to Aprilia, you will say this is ten steps back, but - obviously the way he finished with Yamaha is not nice - the Aprilia is a competitive bike.

"We are still not on the level of the Yamaha, but we are on the way. I think Maverick will enjoy a lot riding the Aprilia. He will have to adapt because it’s completely another story from Yamaha, but as I showed [at Silverstone], the bike is on the way."

While Vinales had his first introduction to the RS-GP during a two-day test last week, Espargaro has been part of the Aprilia project since 2017.

"One thing is clear. I never tried to adapt the bike to myself. That’s for sure," Espargaro said.

"During these five years, I always tried to make the bike competitive. Obviously, I said to the engineers what I would like because I was the number one rider and the one who had to develop the bike.

"But I always tried to adapt myself to the bike, always trying to stress the bike on the very good points of the bike and trying to improve the weaknesses. This has been my job for these five years.

"Since the arrival of Massimo [Rivola], many things have changed in Noale, the way we work. Many engineers new have come. There is nothing free in this sport. You need to put money. You need to invest. This is what we did.

"The RS-GP21 is the highest on the stability side, due to the downforce. Also, the geometry. We changed a little bit also the balance by changing the engine position.

"So, many things have been done in these last two years. Now we are seeing the results, but this is a consequence of many small things that you have to change during the years."

With the RS-GP's first podium now in the bag, the next target for Espargaro and Vinales will be to make history as Aprilia's first ever race winner in the premier-class.