Espargaro stormed to an historic first pole for Aprilia in the modern MotoGP era on Saturday at Termas de Rio Hondo and looks among the fastest on race pace following practice.
Aprilia has been on a steady trajectory towards the front of the field since last season, while Espargaro’s run to fourth in Qatar last month proved to be the closest the Italian marque has come to winning a race in the MotoGP era.
Quartararo – who qualified sixth and showed strong race pace in practice – says Espargaro’s pole charge came as little surprise, but fears the Spaniard is capable of breaking the pack on Sunday if he can get a good start.
“I was surprised today,” Quartararo said.
“Not for the pole position because in FP2 they got first and second.
“About the first position, I’m not really surprised. But I’m surprised how Aleix managed to get the pace he did on the soft, [it] was amazing.
“There’s a good chance if he makes a good start he can pull away.
…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – All – Stories…