The disappointment of the Qatar MotoGP for Aprilia and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro has been likened to “a blunt knife”.

Espargaro, at one of his favourite tracks, enjoyed a roaring conclusion to the Saturday sprint race, earning a podium finish, and was the favourite to win Sunday’s grand prix with many inside the paddock, as a r🎃esult.

But a disappointing outing resulted in a P8 finish𝄹, blamed on poor rear grip.

“Weird,” was how TNT Sp🗹orts’ Michael Lavไerty summed up Espargaro’s race.

“Something strange happened,” he added.

“He never had any fight from the off. He was getting beaten up, overtakenไ, on the first two or three laps.

“Then we expected, when he was only 3.84s off the ജlead, that it’s going to kick into gear for him. The🐎 grip will come to Aleix.

“But it never happened and heღ dropped further behind.

“It may have been the c💖ooler track temperature or everyone else just figuring things out overꦰnight.

“But it did seem like Aprilia were a blunt knife.

“They should ౠhave been the package which fought the Ducatis, but they just didn’t have it.”

Espargaro, the oldest rider on the 2024 MotoGP grid at 34, admitted that he woke up on Sunಞday morning expecting he could win in Qatar.

But꧅ he admitted to the quick realisation that he was “extremely slow” in the race eventually won by Francesco Bagnaia.

"Already on the warm-up lap to the grid I felt that I had no grip at all. Something went wronꦫg with the rear tyre.

“We have to try to understand what happened with𓂃 Michelin and the team.

"Obviously with the pace we showed in the last part of the Sprint I was aiming for💎 a comp🌱letely different race.

"But there was nothing I could do. It was a nightmare all♛ r𒅌ace."

He later ༒added: “I'm a little bit angry becaus♑e we lost a good opportunity.

"In any case, I am still leaving Qatar knowing that I have a competitive bike and the championship has🍌 only just begu൲n."

Aprilia entered the season-opener tipped to be Ducati’s closest challenger but, after a bizarre Sunday, it never cam🧔e to fruition.

KTM’s Brad Binder was in♒stead the ✨sole non-Ducati in the top seven.