Bagnaia won (his fi💙rst race of 2022 en route to the championship) ahead of then-champion and title rival Quartararo, with Espargaro down in P7.

But Aprilia rider Espargaro, one of many returning to their home race at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Spanish MotoGP this weekend, insists he is a thre🧜at to claim 🅠victory.

“Fabio, this year? Him or the Yamaha 🌳are not at the level🐓 of last year, it looks like,” Espargaro said.

“Pecco? After the crash in America, maybe he will lose someღ 🍒confidence.

“Let’s see how the race is. I was very strong last year, I was stuck behind Marc Marquez and♊ Jack Miller for many laps.

“Then when I had free space I waꦺs at a similar pace to the win♕ners.

“It can be a good circuit for us.

“🍸I𝔉’m going for the win. It sounds strange but I think I’m faster than last year.

“In America I did the second-fastest lap in the race, I finished fourth in the sprint in my worst ciꦯrcuitꦰ.

“I have the speed. I have nothing to chang𝕴e. Just relax, try to have fun.”

Aleix Espargaro: "You believe it will never fail, but..."

Espargaro had claimed a P4 finish in the sprint race at the Grand Prix of the Americas last time out but his challe🎃nge in the Sunday race was over within one lap.

He blamed it on his ride height device failing to unl🤪ock - in Jerez, he admits it is a fundamental issue with his Aprilia which c🍸ould resurface.

“I still bel💝ieve that I did the first part with the bike low, when I touched the throttle I had no weight at the front. So something was not working,” Espargaro said.

“Our problem - and this is difficult to change - is that, in other brands 🌌like Ducati, when you aren’t able🌟 to brake super-strong in the corner, the ride height device recovers 75% or 90% of the stroke. Then you can ride.

“If our brake isn’t strong enough, the 💯ride height device doesn’t recover anything.

“This is why💯 I did the very lap with the bike low. It’s somethin🥀g we can’t change.

“We didn’t have these problems in prꩵeseason in Malaysia. 

“When the bike a⛎rrived into the garage, I was told the bike was low.

“It is clear i꧙n the data that the bike was in the right position. But when I touched the throttle, the bike was low.”

Is it something Espargaro must work on solving?

“No. It can happen again,” he said. “Last year I had the same problem here in Jerez. I touched Marc Marquez, my ride height devi🍃ce didn’t recover. So I went wide, Marc overtook in Corner 1, then in Corner 2, my rear ride height device recovered.”

He insisted it would not damage his coඣnfidence: “No because you believe it will never fail. 

“Thও♕ere are many things in the bike that can fail, but you can’t think ‘is this working?’

“In the future if we ban the ride height device while we are riding, it🌌 will be easier.

“But the starts? In the last seasons it has been easier - less wheelies. The riders’ behaviour is more cle༺an.”