MotoGp Argentina, Aprilia double in free practice: Espargarò the fastest, then Vinales. Bagnaia is sixth

TERMAS DE RIO HONDO – It’s still one MotoGP who speaks Italian, but this time there are the jewels of Noale in front of them: from morning to afternoon le Aprilia officers dominate the first day of free practice in Argentina, second appointment of the season. The absolute best chrono marks it Aleix Espargarò, who achieved a historic and long-awaited success on this route last year with the RS-GP: the time (1’38″518) is well above the track record, but on Saturday with different conditions the stopwatch will come down. “I’m one who plays for the team: especially happy to see Aprilias in front of everyone. The bike works great here, but it’s very difficult to ride it”, smiles the Captain. Second place for Vinales, who tried to overtake his teammate right up to the end. The conditions are for a new triumph for the Venetian company, but on Saturday we will have to go through qualifying and a sprint race which promises to be balanced and exciting once again.

Bezzecchi and Marini protagonists again

In an event without 4 injured protagonists (Bastianini, Pol Espargarò, Marc Marquez, Oliveira) on the virtual podium – the same step of the Portuguese gp – salt Bezzecchi: rookie in 2022, the Ducati rider manages his GP22 brilliantly and precedes the other talent of the Mooney VR46, Marines. This is one of the few circuits where the bikes from Borgo Panigale have never triumphed: Bagnaia he settles for sixth time with used tyres, working above all in the race perspective and trying to interpret a Red that denounces a bit of “nervousness” on the dips and dirty asphalt of Termas de Rio Hondo. The world champion finds himself sandwiched between the two Pramac-branded Ducatis: the Frenchman in front Zarcoimmediately behind him the Spaniard Martin who seems to have fully recovered from the injury (with a fracture of a toe on his right foot) following Marquez’s ‘rear collision’ in Portimao.

Morbidelli is back, again disappointing Quartararo

There is good news at Yamaha and it comes from Morbidelli: ‘Frankie’, who 3 years ago played for the world championship with Mir and then plunged into a black crisis, re-emerges with a comforting 9th time that is worth 2 times, because his box-mate – Quartararo – he really tries them all but doesn’t go beyond the 14th time trial after damning his soul. El Diablo will be forced into Q1, hoping to pass between the 2 fastest. In Q2, however, there are already the satellite Hondas of Nakagami and Rins. Immediately out of the 10 Alex Marquez with Gresini’s Ducati, then a fluctuating Miller a Ktm that really doesn’t go. Saturday is the turn of qualifying (3.45 pm Italian time), in the evening (8.00 pm) the sprint race.