Bagnaia’s challengers for the title: Marc: “Honda is far away to win, we have to get close first”; the Spaniard from Aprilia: “You can beat the Ducati, but it’s very hard”; the Frenchman from Yamaha: “We’ll have to evolve during the season to stay on top”
March 23, 2023 (change March 23, 2023 | 8:06 PM)
– Milan
The patrol of Pecco Bagnaia’s challengers in the 2023 World Cup starts from Fabio Quartararoaccording to last year, and widens to eight times world champion Marc Marquez (Honda) and CEO Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia revelation of 2022. For all of them, Pecco and the Ducati are favorites, but they will try to hinder their march, starting with the Frenchman from Yamaha. “On the last day of testing, we went back to the basics of 2022 and it went better: we need to understand how the new parts work because at the moment we don’t have the top speed we need – says Quartararo -. We have made some steps forward, but we have not are still sufficient: if we continue to work we can grow, but now we are still quite far away and we are missing something in comparison with Ducati. Ducati certainly has the best package, but it is Pecco who is ahead of everyone: we want to give him back his life difficult, but we will have to evolve during the season to stay on top. The Sprint Races? They will be intense weekends with the double races, but physically I have grown compared to 2022. If it is a way to increase the fan base, fine, but it’s a risk that lasts the whole season: you’ll have to race to the limit but also understand how to manage the calendar.”
marc marquez
—
Marc Marquez asks Honda for a bike that will allow him to limit the gap against the Ducatis, but he appears to have completely regenerated physically: “The winter was demanding, we tried many different things and worked a lot on some concepts, but we are a a little behind: we are not able to fight for the podium. Now Ducati has a very strong package and Pecco in particular is in great shape and is the favourite: we are not title contenders, we are too far away to think how to stop him. we must first think about working to bring him closer”. The Spaniard then analyzes the shortcomings of his bike: “We lack the same things as last year, that’s where we have to work. The Honda-Kalex collaboration for the chassis? I tried the Kalex swingarm at Misano, but on the chassis I didn’t I have news: in general we have to investigate all areas.We come from 3 tough years, we win and lose together, but my ambition is the same as in 2013: I will do with what I have in hand, I believe in Honda and sometimes situations can change from one day to the next. The Sprint Race? I like them, but the weekend program is too demanding for the riders with the doubling of the races, but I look forward to it with enthusiasm”.
aleix espargaro
—
Last year Aleix Espargaro amazed everyone with the Aprilia revelation and now he knows that confirmation is more difficult: “I feel ready, the bike has grown, it’s fast and even the cooling problems have been improved – says the Spaniard – I feel more confident and ready but I know that in 2022 we were the surprise and now we therefore have additional pressure. However, I think it is possible to beat Ducati in a face-off or at least I will try, but it is very difficult because they have a base solid, a strong bike and there are many on the track”. Finally, a judgment on the Sprint Race: “We tried them with the team, but until you race them you don’t have a clear idea: Sunday’s race certainly remains the key one and we need to understand how much sense it makes to risk on Saturday even for a few points, but now Q2 on Friday becomes as important as qualifying”.
March 23, 2023 (change March 23, 2023 | 20:06)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED