After the practice sessions for the GP of The Americas, it wasn’t hard to predict the results of today’s race in Austin. The three riders on the front row of the grid -Márquez, Pedrosa and Lorenzo- occupied the podium spots. To the amazement of many, Pedrosa was the leader for much of the race, with Marquez close behind. The two Spaniards broke away early, with Lorenzo a spectator to their duel from out of touching distance. In contrast to the opening race of the year in Qatar, the contest became predictable. Many riders were riding alone, as was Márquez when he escaped from Pedrosa towards the end of the race and took the victory.
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Aleix Espargaró was the best CRT rider of the race for the second event in a row this season, picking up ten points from his opening two GPs of the year. In Losail he was dominant over his rivals and this weekend he repeated the feat. Yesterday he had shown his cards by qualifying ninth and proving to be a match for the riders with regular MotoGP machinery. From the moment the lights went out he pushed hard against the factory and satellite riders, and was able to get past two of them for a creditable eleventh place finish.Randy De Puniet also repeated his CRT honour from Qatar, finishing second of the CRTs for the second time. Still not feeling fully comfortable with the front end of his bike, the Frenchman nevertheless had a solid ride and placed fourteenth today.
11th Aleix Espargaró:
"I am very happy that we went again had a complete weekend. I made a good start and was able to overtake Hayden, Iannone and Bautista off the line, but they got back ahead of me. Although I did not lose sight of my goal, which was to be the top CRT, I admit that I tried to pursue them and keep on their tails. It just wasn’t possible. The initial push helped me to gain an advantage over Smith and Spies. The truth is that I had a hard time keeping them at bay, as I could see them gradually approaching, but fortunately I was able to manage the three-second advantage obtained in the first part of the race. Smith did not give me a second’s respite, and in a way I am grateful to him for that because it forced me to push to the maximum and be very focused throughout the race. I am very satisfied with the work we are doing, everything is working perfectly and we are still the reference point for the CRT competition."
14th Randy De Puniet:
"In the end we ended the weekend positively, but a similar thing happened to us as in Qatar, where we struggled to find the right direction. I got me the impression that we were always a session behind Aleix. Our problems were mainly due to the lack of confidence in the front. We planned a change in the rear suspension for the warmup session, but the track was too cold and we could not gain good conclusions from it. Although during the race the temperature had risen greatly, I preferred not to take any risks. I started well and I slotted in behind Smith, but there was almost a collision with another rider and I had to brake really hard –allowing other riders to pass. I was stuck with a group of riders for five laps and they slowed me down. I got away from them and upped my pace, before reaching Hernández. We were the second best CRT once again, which isn’t a bad result, but we have to continue working in order to be more competitive."
Power Electronics Aspar Press Release
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