Pol Espargaró did not let up after qualifying for the Indonesian Grand Prix which put him in sixteenth place, far from his stated ambitions for this crucial season for his future. A frustration all the greater as it is one of the collateral victims of Michelin's choice to bring a tire allocation composed of rubber dating back to 2018. A situation reported and regretted by many drivers, including those riding the new RC213V and which we find at the bottom of the grid. His elder Aleix on the Aprilia had drawn attention to these four-year-old tires on Friday. But this time, with the youngest of the Espargaró, the anger comes to light.
It's a witticism that explodes this Saturday in the paddock installed at Mandalika : do you know why Yamaha are getting better Indonesia ? Because Michelin brought out its 2018 tires, the last year the M1 evolved. For the other motorcycles leaving the workshops this winter, the reallocation of these past models is synonymous with disaster. Unlike the Yamaha which would therefore be more or less the same as four years ago…
We must of course detect irony in this approach but the fact is that in Honda, we get annoyed. Pol Espargaro is all the more angry by this unpleasant surprise Michelin that during tests barely a month ago, he was faster with the tires expected for this 2022 season... Struggling to find sensations in the dry, the teammate of Marc Marquez set a best time of 1'31.831s which is almost 0.8sec slower than his best test time just a few weeks ago.
The Catalan will start tomorrow from 16th place on the grid, and for him, there is no doubt about the responsibility for such a poor performance: “ this carcass solved the problem for some, but it generated one for others. I understand that there were problems during the test and that Michelin was concerned. But you can't bring other tires without knowing how they will perform either ". And the Spaniard accuses: “ Michelin ruined my motorcycle which is not made for 2018 tires ».
Pol Espargaro: “tomorrow’s race will be about seeing the finish”
« Honda worked hard this winter to make a new bike to solve the problems we had in the past. They made a very fast bike, as was seen in testing and in Qatar. But here, we have wheels from four years ago, and it doesn't match the current situation " developed Pol Espargaro who insists: “ we saw the Ducatis suffer a lot during testing, and now they are flying. It is not fair. I understand that the problems must be solved in another way. For us, the situation is much more complicated than during the tests a month ago. The bike has no grip at the rear, this forces us to put a lot of pressure at the front and the front tire is destroyed ».
“This Saturday was a super difficult day, I am more than disappointed. The different rear tire we have here is not working with our new bike and is causing us a lot of difficulty and more problems. We showed our potential here in the first test with the tire we will use all year, you can see the impact this has because now other riders who suffered a lot during the test are flying. Tomorrow's race will be about getting to the finish, that's all we can do. We will come back stronger » finishes the one who finished third in the first Grand Prix of the season at Qatar.
MotoGP Indonesia J2: qualifying
Credit motogp.com
