Final efforts for Aprilia before the winter break, three days of testing on the Spanish Jerez de la Frontera track. Aleix Espargarò and Sam Lowes were back in the saddle of their RS-GP machines, just a few days after their first contact in Valencia, for a final series of preliminary tests for the development of the bike from Veneto in view of 2017. The less than ideal weather partially complicated the job for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, enough to force the team and riders to stop early because of the rain.
The two sides of the garage had different goals. Aleix Espargarò continued gathering data and information that will be used by the Noale Racing Department in defining the RS-GP in its 2017 configuration. The Spanish rider identified a good base on which to build from now until the next tests in Malaysia. Sam Lowes, visibly suffering after his crash in Valencia, was unable to push too hard astride his RS-GP, so he took advantage of the three days to get to know the team better, also benefiting from the comments made by his more expert garage mate.
Even with the early stop, Aleix did 80 laps with his best stopping the clock at 1’39.675, whereas Sam’s best time was 1’42.312 of his 50-lap total.
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