When the moment of assessment arrives on the Mattighofen side, we will undoubtedly realize that this edition of the Valencia Grand Prix. And for good reason: a victory in Moto3 entered into legend thanks to the precocity of the talent of a Oncu who was competing in his first race at this level. At 15 ! Then an achievement in Moto2 with Olive tree. All to then experience the RC16's first podium in MotoGP. For Pol Espargaró, the performance had an extra flavor. Because a few weeks earlier, he suffered from a badly damaged spinal cord...
The man who, for too many minutes no longer felt his legs after a fall, can feast on this performance which makes him feel so intensely alive. Pol Espargaro is a character, which also has a brother made of the same wood. This season has been hell with serious injuries. It was promised to be less good than the previous one. But that was before this Valencia Grand Prix.
The KTM official says: “ I still can't believe it. The last lap was very long, it seemed like it would never stop... The bike was working well. She behaved well throughout the weekend. I was already happy after sixth place in qualifying. But I didn't even dare imagine being third ».
He pursues : " I was lucky because I crashed but the bike didn't go into the gravel and I was able to bring it back to the pits before the red flags. What is KTM still missing? From the acceleration of the electronics and the data from the drivers on the track… We also had crash problems with me and with our test driver Kallio. Next year we will have a satellite team and we will definitely do better ».
Who's been cutting onions?!😢
One of our favorite moments of the weekend between @polespargaro & brother @AleixEspargaro…they've come a long way these two. #ValenciaGP pic.twitter.com/lixte1XxC6
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 18, 2018
It's a euphoric house that will integrate John Zarco et Dani Pedrosa. The first city will rub shoulders with a Pol Espargaro reinforced by this convincing result. The second will only begin work in February 2019. Finally, with this fireworks-like finale, KTM leaves last place in the manufacturers' ranking to Aprilia. Which should not make a certain person smile Aleix…Espargaró !
Valencia Grand Prix, Ricardo Tormo, MotoGP, J.3: classification.
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 24'03.408 |
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +2.750 |
| 3 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +7.406 |
| 4 | 51 | Michael PIRRO | Ducati | +8.647 |
| 5 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +13.351 |
| 6 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +32.288 |
| 7 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +32.806 |
| 8 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +33.111 |
| 9 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | +36.376 |
| 10 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | +37.198 |
| 11 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +44.326 |
| 12 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +46.146 |
| 13 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +52.809 |
| 14 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | + 1'10.628 |
| 15 | 81 | Jordi TORRES | Ducati | + 1'16.739 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 7 lapses | |
| 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 0 laps | |
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 0 laps | |
| 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 0 laps | |
| 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 0 laps | |
| 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 0 laps | |
| 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 0 laps | |
| 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 0 laps | |
| 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 0 laps |
