Aleix Espargaro put his youthful brother Pol’s standing because the season’s quickest check rider beneath menace throughout a aggressive Friday apply on the Valencia season finale.
Competing in his fifth occasion of the season, Espargaro arrived recent from shaking down the 2026 Hondas at Aragon final weekend.
The Spaniard’s two machines will probably be handed over to manufacturing unit stars Joan Mir and Luca Marini for Tuesday’s official check, that means Espargaro must keep away from damaging the machines.
Even so, the previous Aprilia race winner turned heads with third on the timesheets in opening apply, then got here inside 0.1s of direct Qualifying 2 entry with thirteenth (+0.592s) within the afternoon.
“Aragon was principally the shakedown of the ‘26 bikes… And these are the 2 bikes that Joan and Luca are going to journey on Tuesday, so I’ll take care in the course of the weekend,” Espargaro mentioned.
“Within the final two months, I’ve been testing lots. We have been 4 occasions in Malaysia! Then additionally Aragon,” he revealed.
“So I’ve bought used extra to the bike and positively this ‘26 bike is to me lots higher than the bike I rode for the primary time in Malaysia.
“Right this moment, no excuses, I can say to you that this isn’t the restrict of the bike. I push, however within the exhausting braking, the acceleration, the mid-corner I’ve margin – or the bike has margin!
“The bike can go quicker, so I believe it is a good signal.”
Quizzed on the place the brand new bike is best, Espargaro mentioned:
“Extra secure, that is for certain. We have now improved the torque lots for the reason that starting of the season. You may see that the highest velocity, we’re principally one of many quickest bikes proper now. And the aero permits us to cease the bike higher, which you would see in Malaysia with Joan and the way late he brakes.
“Nonetheless we’ve margin within the aero facet. I believe we’ve to work exhausting in the course of the winter to enhance, particularly the fairing of the bike for subsequent 12 months. We’ve additionally labored lots with totally different swing-arms in the course of the season, and I’ve a brand new one that offers me much more stability. Additionally the electronics, the TC is de facto good. So the bike is totally one other one from the start.”
The brand new bike doesn’t want a special driving type, since “it is simply higher all over the place”, permitting Espargaro to indicate the sort of high ten velocity youthful brother Pol delivered in his KTM outings earlier this season.
Mir, in ninth, was the one Honda rider faster than Espargaro on Friday.
“I’m very happy with all of the check crew as a result of the final two months they labored very exhausting, they journey lots, so it is good that they get pleasure from additionally. And I loved lots driving,” he mentioned.
“I felt actually robust at present and I felt with the time assault – I used to be aiming for one more tyre to attempt to put the bike within the high 10, high 5 as a result of actually the bike is sweet.
“However I have to be braver with the time assault. I am 36 years outdated, I did not do the time assault in a very long time as a result of in the course of the check we can not do time assaults. So I miss some velocity in a single single lap.”
Pol Espargaro’s finest end this season was eighth at Balaton Park.
Aleix’s fellow HRC check rider Takaaki Nakagami has taken the most effective check rider end of the season to date with sixth within the moist French MotoGP.
Honda will transfer from D to C within the MotoGP concessions rating if it scores at the least 9 factors this weekend.
