Pol Espargaró never ceases to amaze. In Misano he invited himself to the pole position party, came away with a solid race and now, after a day on Friday in Aragón, he looks set to be in the top 5! We will remind you that he rides a KTM. But the Spaniard is as realistic as he is talented. Indeed, the RC16 has faults and they prove particularly annoying in racing conditions...
Pol Espargaro single-handedly holds the RC16 project on its strong shoulders. “ It was a good first day, at least when we rode for a quick lap “, said the 27-year-old Spaniard. “ The strategy was correct. Because we gave up the soft rear tire in the morning and used it in the afternoon. FP2 was a bit of a qualifier for everyone because it could rain on Saturday morning. »
However, the teammate of Mika Kallio who replaced Johann zarco in the circumstances that we know insists: “ for the race, I'm not as strong as on a single lap. I have trouble braking, which is usually one of our strong points. This has already happened in Misano. We lock the rear wheel too early. Where we saved time before, we have problems now. So I have to find other ways to go faster. We have work on Saturday, hopefully we will already be qualified for Q2. I would like to have an FP4 in the dry to be able to work on the tires for the race, which is urgent. »
Pol Espargaro ensured that the motorcycle was unchanged from Misano, no new parts had been installed. “ We have the same base as a week ago. But on Tuesday the private test begins here, the work with the 2020 motorcycle »
« We change the bike, which also changes the results. We expected a very good result at Sachsenring, it didn't happen. Then we expected problems in Misano, but the fears did not come true. We felt much more comfortable than expected. And here I have problems when driving with worn tires. In the past, we have not encountered these problems here. I mean, the grip is also lower than before. Yes, the situation is changing. We change the bike, which changes expectations and results. »
The motorcycle of Pol Espargaro moves a lot coming out of the turn towards the finish line. “ Yes, apparently the rear tire casing is too soft for us here. We're trying to improve that. But we all have the same tire. We must accept it and solve the problems. » Pol ends by paying tribute to Marc Márquez for his performance in FP1: “ I don't know how he did it. I would like to know that. But at the moment it is very, very far from the time that we can oppose ».
MotoGP Aragón J1: times
