MotoGP Germany: Aleix Espargaro on start swerve: “My fault, you cannot do that” | Aprilia "worst launch control on the grid"

Aleix Espargaro held up his hands and accepted responsibility for swerving across the track at the start of Saturday’s Sachsenring MotoGP sprint race.
Aleix Espargaro, MotoGP, German MotoGP, 17 June
Aleix Espargaro, MotoGP, German MotoGP, 17 June

Lining up in tenth place, at the head of row four, the factory Aprilia star veered to the right when the lights went out, forcing evasive action by Enea Bastianini ꦑand Fabio Quartararo alongside ♔him.

Espargaro said he had been so focussed on trying a new clutch and launch syste𒆙m that he hadn’t even realised what he had done until seeing the TV images after the race.

“My mistake. I went too much on the right. We are tꦉrying a new clutch, new launch controls and I was super focused on the clutch and when I saw the images in the garage, I didn’t even realise that I did that,” Espargaro said.

“But my fault. You cannot do that. I was too much on the right and because my start was not good, actu𓃲ally it was shit, the riders behind me were a lot more fast than me, so I crossed their line. My fault.”

Espargaro finished the opening lap in twelfth place and finished ninth𝓀, for the final point, but felt his chances had been wrecked by the yellow flags in qualifying.

“The race was shit. I'm very frustrated because in qualifying I h♏ad really good speed. I was aiming to fight for the pole and I had two yellow flags on the last two laps when 🍃the track was more dry,” he said.

“So starting from tenth with the worst launch control on thജe grid is almost impossible. The pace was not bad, I overtake many positions, but it's difficult when you start that far back.”

“We are working a lot [to improve the launch control]. Wﷺe are trying different systems but it's always the same time from 0 to 100km/h and the r🐈ace is done.

"Every weekend there are some bikes with a slower pace that beat us due to the start because [behind other riders] the front tyre pressure wil💜l go into the sky. So it's difficult to ride the bike.

"We are doing a really﷽ bad championship. All the Aprilias. I'm the first Aprilia almost every session in the last 3-4 races but always far from the positions that we have to be.”

RNF’s Miguel Oliveira was the next best A🗹prilia rider on Saturday, in 16th place.

Espargaro, riding with two fracture bones in his right heel from th☂e Mugello cycling accident, is currently eighth in the world championship heading into this afꦓternoon’s grand prix.

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story ♎and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.

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