Espargaró notes quick adaptation after French practice

The Pramac Racing team were extremely satisfied with the opening practice session of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, as Aleix Espargaró and Mika Kallio set the ninth and 15th best times on Friday.

For Espargaró it was proof of his ability to step up and left him feeling confident ahead of Saturday’s second practice and qualifying, and Kallio believes his side of the garage has found the right solution to continue making improvements tomorrow.

Aleix Espargaró, 9th, 1'35 .450

"I am very happy with this result, especially because I generally have some problems getting confidence on new circuits. I am excited to have ended the first free practice with just a one-second gap from the top rider and also because I was faster than other riders that have much more experience than me, and I was able to receive some technical advice from Ducati. I still have some problems with the front wheel but I have got a lot of trust in my team and I'm sure that tomorrow they will give me an even more competitive bike to have the best package for the second free practice and qualifying.”

Mika Kallio, 15th, 1'36 .292

"I am a bit upset about the result, but we did a tremendous job with the team to try to solve all the problems and I think we have found the right balance for tomorrow. Unfortunately, my riding style does not allow me to be fast with this bike on some circuits and for this reason we need a little more time than the others to find the faster times. We remain confident though because after the first day of the last Grand Prix at Jerez, the situation was even more uncertain.”

Press release courtesy of Pramac Racing