“Shocking” Aprilia will be “hard to beat” in Barcelona MotoGP

Aleix Espargaro dominated Friday practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, topping the combined timesheets by 0.303s from Aprilia team-mate Maverick Vinales.

Espargaro is on a purple patch in 2022, coming to his home race off the back of four-straight podium finishes to add to his Argentina victory.

The low-grip nature of the Barcelona track is similar to how it was in Argentina,…