Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro says he “burned his fingers” throughout a scorching MotoGP race in Malaysia the place he struggled to thirteenth place.
The Aprilia RS-GP is notorious for its overheating issues, with each Espargaro and team-mate Maverick Vinales having repeatedly expressed issues about its adversarial results throughout among the flyaway races in Asia.
In response to Espargaro, the Noale model has made no progress on this course this yr, which meant that he discovered it laborious to even make it to the end in final weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Withstanding the warmth exuded from the bike for 19 laps in a crash-shortened race, the Spaniard got here away with simply three championship factors as he benefited from incidents additional up the pack.
Talking afterwards, the 35-year-old revealed that the problems not solely compromised his personal efficiency at Sepang, but in addition meant that the bike was working down on energy.
“It was very powerful,” he described. “I knew that in all these races [where] it is extremely, highly regarded, this can be very troublesome for us. And much more should you begin that far on the grid, it has been an actual nightmare.
“The engine was actually sluggish, I could not overtake anyone. The engine was very, very sluggish as a result of warmth.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photos
“I used to be [only] capable of overtake Raul. Then I suffered so much the final three laps the place I virtually couldn’t make it to the top, I couldn’t deal with the handlebar. The warmth was superb.
“I burned my fingers and needed to open my visor. The warmth is the Achilles heel of this bike.”
Espargaro wasn’t the one Aprilia rider to complain about warmth points on a scorching and sunny day in Malaysia.
Driving a 2024 RS-GP with final yr’s engine, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez additionally felt the consequences of the bike in Malaysia as he desperately tried to get some air blown onto him on Sepang’s lengthy straights.
“Tremendous troublesome to handle with the temperature on the bike. The final 4 laps I used to be achieved. I attempted to finish the race [out of] respect to the workforce, respect for all my mechanics,” he stated.
“The final 4 laps I couldn’t dwell on the bike. All of the straight I had my head out of the bike to take some air. It is extremely troublesome particularly when you could have slipstream you don’t take air.
“I do not really feel the hand, I do not really feel the foot. I could not take the air. It’s secure however it’s actually troublesome.”
Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photos
Vinales wasn’t impacted as severely by an overheating bike as Espargaro and Fernandez, ending a comparatively robust seventh between the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.
However the 29-year-old spent a lot of the race in clear air, with Quartararo circulating a number of seconds forward of him in sixth.