“My guys said, ‘Fabio is [just] in front of you’. But I don't care. This is a very special GP. I want to finish on the ♚podium because it’s the home race of ꧂Aprilia,” Espargaro said.

With memories of the huge Silverstone highside sti🍎ll fresh in his mind, Espargaro felt he had played it a little too safe in Saturday’s tricky damp qualifying.

“When I left pitlane I felt a mix of angry and disappointed. Because to ride in thꦯese conditions is very tricky, very dangerous,” Espa♓rgaro said.

“I touched a white line in the first lap and almost flew [off]. So I tried to focus and make no ꦅmistakes, go as fast as possible but without risk. And maybe I had to risk a little bit m🤪ore because ninth place is not good.

“I didn't want to make a stupid mistake like I did in Silverstone, because there are still a lot of points, a lot of races, a lot of days in front of us. 🃏It's just qualifying.

“But obviously if it rains tomorrow, I will have൲ to ris🌊k a bit more because you get the points, not today.”

Off the rostrum f🐻or the past five rounds and having slipped 32 points behind Quartararo, Espargaro now views a Misano podium as crucial♈ to his title hopes.

“I know that if I want to fight for the championship, I need to finish on the p🅠odium. So thisꦇ is what I’m aiming for,” he said.

Fortunately for Espargaro, the RS-GP “ꦉimproved quite a lot” on Saturday, with the Spaniard and team-mate Maverick Vinales finishing behind only Enea Bastianini (♈Gresini Ducati) in final practice.

“I changed qu𝓰ite a lot the bike from yesterday. I made it a little bit longer like Maverick to gain some stability on the brakes. To avoid the sliding," Espargaro said.

"And I gained a lot of stability. I was able to brake later and I was surprised for my pace🔯. I was not really pushing like hell and I was all the time in 32.4 which is very fast.

"So it's a shame, the qualifying, because I thi✃nk that the race pace is very strong 🍰from both Aprilias."

Meanwhile, if the rain stays away, Espargaro predic🎃ts a flat-out race.

“I don't think that it will be a strategic race. You can go full gas from lap 1 to the end and this is something that didn't happen in a long time,” he expl🐈ained.

“I don't know if the Ducatis will choose the soft rear tyre, but with the medium, I started this morning with 19 laps and on lap 27 I did 32.5. The degradation is v🐲ery low. No drop of the tyre. So I'm very happy about this.”

Vinales has qualified as the top non-Ducati in fifth place🧸, which will become fourth on the grid due to the penalty for Francesco Bagnaia.

Bagnaia, winner of the♏ last three ra❀ces, is now within 12 points of Espargaro.