The official Honda rider for two seasons, Pol Espargaró, is heading to a Red Bull Ring where he has only had good memories with a KTM. Precisely, on these lands of the Styrian plain which host the Austrian Grand Prix, which this weekend will mark the thirteenth stage of this 20-round MotoGP season, he should officially learn of his reunion with the Mattighofen firm with a view to 2023 and beyond. And this will undoubtedly be the only good news he will get from this expedition which he will still face with a 213 RC2022V that his teammate Stefan Bradl has already identified as already abandoned by HRC, which is focusing on the next opus.
On this subject, there will be Marc Marquez in the stands to observe, study, and define the path forward for the next Honda. Shadow work which will certainly be intense given the scale of the crisis under the hood Repsol. But it will always be less trying than going to sacrifice on the track, a thankless role that will continue to play Pol Espargaro et Stefan Bradl.
The Spaniard, who many agree will be the future driver GASGAS Tech3 en MotoGP, got on the Austrian podium in 2020 by taking third place with his KTM official Styrian Grand Prix. He had also, and above all, seen the creation of his brand companion placed at Tech3, Miguel Oliveira…With one race under his belt after missing two Grands Prix and not racing during the summer holidays, Pol Espargaro is at least sure of his form and intends to work hard from FP1: “ the races in Austria always seem to be very intense, but it's always an enjoyable weekend he comments.
Pol Espargaro: “ I'm curious to see this new chicane«
« It's a very particular track with a lot of very violent braking, very stop and go and only a few turns » he adds before concluding: “ we will see how we behave this weekend, the Repsol Honda Team and HRC are working hard to improve our situation. I am curious to see this new chicane; the portion up to the top of the hill was very fast, so I think it will be very different. Our goal is to have a smooth weekend and to qualify better, that's the key ».
For its part, Stefan bradl clarified: “ it's nice to race in Austria again, the fans always give me a very warm welcome. I have a good experience of the circuit over the last few years, so it won't be like Silverstone where I had to remember the track. With shorter circuits like this, the gaps in MotoGP become even smaller, so you really have to work to find every tenth because it can make a big difference in practice and for the place on the starting grid ».
