The 2022 MotoGP World Championship started with the first day of testing at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Aleix Espargaró shone with the new Aprilia RS-GP as he consistently stayed in the leading group from the first test session and then comfortably made it into the top 10.
With this impressive performance, Aleix secured a spot in Q2 qualifying, where he finished fifth in the decisive session to determine the starting order. With a time of 1’53.298, Aleix was only 3/10 of a second behind the first-placed rider.
On the other hand, Maverick Viñales, experiencing the track for the first time with Aprilia, has consistently remained outside the top 10, trying out various settings but unable to find the best solution. Maverick ended up in 18th place in the testing session and had to participate in the Q1 qualifying session. His final time of 1’54.228 puts the young rider in seventh place on the starting grid for the first race of MotoGP 2022.
After a successful weekend with top positions in every test and qualifying session, Aleix Espargaró continued to showcase his form in the race, finishing fourth in an extremely close final night, where the top four riders were separated by just 2 seconds.
Aleix missed out on a podium chance, despite a brilliant start, overtaking Rins, Mir, and Marc Márquez, then catching up, but unable to pass his brother Pol to secure a top-three position. Aleix achieved one of the best results in Aprilia’s MotoGP history and a morale-boosting outcome for the newly launched RS-GP 2022. In fact, Aleix finished with the second-best race time and made it onto the list of top-speed leaders.
Maverick Viñales, although still falling short of the expected results for a talented rider, reacted smartly, keeping up with the race pace and taking advantage of incidents ahead on the track. Maverick fought his way up to finish in 12th place, earning his first points of the 2022 season.
Trang Nguyễn (forum.autodaily.vn)
