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Pol Espargaro

Pol Espargaró, returning to the track this weekend as a “wild card” for KTM, had a contrasting day during the Sprint Race of the Austrian Grand Prix. Although this one-off return to competition is a challenge in itself, Espargaró, whose main role remains that of tester for KTM, has discovered how demanding the competitiveness of MotoGP is, especially when participating sporadically.

« The race weekend, things happen that I can't control or that we didn't expect “, he confided on motosan. " For example, front tire pressure skyrocketed. I didn't know during the race how to deal with this, because I'm not used to this happening in the tests I do. In solo “long runs” and “Sprint Races”, there are no pressure variations, no turbulence, no other drivers falling or overtaking you. Managing all this is very complicated »

Pol Espargaroor a 33 years, remains realistic about the challenges of MotoGP. “ Well, if I'm still 33, I'm not 50. I was going to say 40 years, but Dani Pedrosa is here and it's scary. But yes, I still have speed. Despite the problems we had yesterday, where we drove very little, today things didn't go bad at all. This fall in Q2, I think that without it, we would have been second in line, which would have made things a little better, especially because of the front tire problem. Tomorrow we will try to get a good start and be up front with the guys »

Pol Espargaro with the latest version of the KTM RC16

Pol Espargaro: “ I believe that pilots are not even aware of the risk they take on a daily basis. It's huge and unhealthy »

However, the stress and anxiety of the competition seem to have had an impact Pol Espargaro more than he would have thought. “ When you go out and come back, you realize the stress, anxiety and especially the risk these pilots take. From the outside you don't really see that. We can try to empathize and imagine what they are feeling, but I think they are not even aware of the risk they take on a daily basis. It's huge and unhealthy. I am with my wife every day and it changes my character. I hadn't noticed it before, but now that I'm running less often, I feel it a lot »

Despite these challenges, Pol remains optimistic for Sunday's race. “ Today, in one round, I had a good chance to be the fastest KTM. Of course, this should have been made a reality. But the fact that I, without being as fast or as good as the others, can stand up to them even against the clock, is significant. »

Pol Espargaro hopes that the necessary adjustments will be made between now and the main race to maximize the potential of the KTM, and deliver performance that meets expectations.

Pol Espargaró KTM MotoGP GP Austria Spielberg

Qualifications :

Austria

 

MotoGP Sprint Race Austrian GP

4343

General classification MotoGP

233223

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