**Title: Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia Seek the Perfect Balance: 2024 Braking Enhancements Versus 2023 Corner Speed**

Aleix Espargaro seeks to enhance the 2024 braking with the corner speed of his 2023 Aprilia. Aleix Espargaro commented, "It's all part of the process. Striking the right balance is essential."

MotoGP manufacturers often encounter a common dilemma. To transform sporadic victories into consistent competitiveness throughout the season, they usually need to sacrifice a strong point to fix a more significant flaw.

The situation at Aprilia appears to involve significant improvement in hard braking on the new RS-GP, though this comes at the expense of some corner speed in the 2023 model.

Aleix Espargaro mentioned that when considering the entire calendar, the overall balance has improved. He noted that the ability to stop the bike has enhanced, which was the main issue in the previous season.

"[However], at the end of last year, we were in the top position. In the last turn [at Mugello], I was performing exceptionally well, but that is no longer the case."

"This is just part of the sport. You need to maintain balance throughout the entire season, not just in Mugello but across more than 20 races."

"On high-speed tracks such as those in Barcelona and Silverstone, the bike remains quite good, though it's not as impressive as it was last year."

"The 2024 bike has significantly more weight," he stated. "There is an increase in downforce, altering the bike's dynamics and our riding stance, which changes how we distribute our weight on the bike."

Espargaro and Aprilia are considering having two separate base configurations, tailored for either fast, flowing tracks or stop-and-go tracks.

“This is the first instance where we can consider having two configurations: one designed for tracks with frequent stops and starts, and another aimed at minimizing losses on high-speed circuits such as Barcelona and Assen,” he stated.

"In Barcelona, I grew frustrated at turns 13 and 14 because I couldn't keep up with the speed of the '23, and Raul Fernandez outperformed me in those sections."

"However, I was significantly quicker in the first corner compared to 2023. I was also much faster in the tenth corner, where there's a sharp braking zone at the end of the back straight."

"We are grasping the equilibrium for the future since there remains a significant portion of the season ahead of us."

Although it can be annoying to experience a dip in performance in certain areas, Aprilia is in a stronger position now compared to the same period last year (even though the set of seven tracks is somewhat different).

Maverick Vinales, who rides for the same team as Espargaro, is in sixth place and is the leading Aprilia racer in the global championship, while Espargaro is in eighth place. At this point last year, however, their standings were lower, with Espargaro in ninth and Vinales in tenth.

The initial progress is evident in the teams' rankings, which increased from 108 points in 2023 to 182 points in 2024, and in the constructors' championship standings, which rose from 99 points in 2023 to 138 points in 2024.

Similarly, KTM, which had a 36-point lead over Aprilia in the constructors' standings after seven rounds last season, now only holds a slim two-point advantage in the battle for the second-best spot behind Ducati.

Discover More

Breaking News

Breaking News

Site Navigation

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to fully or partially copy any text, images, or illustrations in any manner.