After the French GP, the Aprilia team headed back to Barcelona for a two-day test ahead of the Catalan GP in two weeks – with key focus on preparing for that race and testing out the new modified layout of the circuit.
Espargaró and Lowes are moving forward with development of the 2017 RS-GP, and Aprilia took a more efficient evolution of the seamless gearbox on its maiden run in the test. Work was also done on the electronics, especially looking to improve performance with a new tyre, and Espargaro tested the front aero fairing that teammate Lowes had already used in a race.
Over the two days, Espargaró did 83 laps, with Lowes putting in 119 fresh from his first Championship points at Le Mans.
Aleix Espargaro, 1:44.852: “These were two important days of testing since we will be here racing in two weeks. At the beginning I struggled a bit to adapt to the new layout, but overall we did a good job on the RS-GP. We began with some difficulty braking, but on the second day we managed to improve a lot. I felt good. We lapped at good times, especially dialling in the electronics. I can't wait to come back here for the race.”
Sam Lowes, 1:46.298: "The last two days were "real" testing for me, we tried many things on the bike to try find a good direction and continue the development. We are happy with the results, we never used a soft tyre to push for lap time and managed to improve our constant pace even testing many things. I am positively looking forward to Mugello, our home race and one of my favourite circuits".