Aprilia has only scored 99 points from the first seven rounds of the 2023 season and has just one podium, courtesy of Maverick Vinales’ second at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
At the same stage in 2022, Aprilia had won a race and stood on the podium on three other occasions, with its points haul also standing at 99.
At the German Grand Prix last weekend, Espargaro was ninth in the sprint and out of the points in 16th in the main race after his gamble to run the soft rear tyre backfired.
Asked if Aprilia’s results not matching its pre-season expectations was purely down to bad luck, Espargaro replied: “No, not bad luck. There is no bad luck.
“In seven rounds, we don’t have the level. Ducati is on another planet. My bike, I said from the pre-season that I like my bike, but that bike is 3% or 4% different than 2022-spec from Miguel [Oliveira].
“And you see the RNF results, you see the factory results are not good.
“This is why we didn’t improve enough to match the level.
Source: Autosport