Espargaro topped both of Friday’s sessions at the Barcelona track on his Aprilia, while the Italian marque was also fastest in third practice and Q1 courtesy of RNF’s Miguel Oliveira.
Having set a new lap record on Friday, Espargaro couldn’t carry this through into Q2 and was beaten to pole by Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia.
He would go on to beat the world champion in the 12-lap sprint by 1.9s but admits the day started “bitter” for him, which made him “a bit angry” coming into the race.
“It has been a very special feeling when I crossed the chequered flag, even if it’s just a sprint,” Espargaro began.
“But this morning was a bit bitter because I finished second, which is great for the two races. But I felt a little bit like I lost.
“I gave everything, but Pecco was better. He was amazing. I was a bit angry, so I started with a big commitment in the sprint race.
“I was a bit shocked at the beginning on the first two laps because the level that Pecco proposed was very high.
“The 1m39s-low was a very high pace, it was not my plan to go at this pace. When he started to do this I said ‘Ok, let’s play, let’s see who can go faster, who destroys the rear tyre first’.”
Source: Autosport