Jostled by the new KTM recruits on Friday, Pol Espargaró showed who was the boss among the orange tunics this Saturday. His solid day led him to position his RC16 on the third row. With good hopes of bringing big points to an employer he wants to leave with his head held high at the end of this year, before joining Repsol Honda…
Pol Espargaro However, his life was not easy and he had to stay away from his brilliant, newly arrived teammate. Brad Binder. In qualifying, however, the Catalan did not let himself be counted on to finish in 7th place. Better, with its 1'37.4, I will espargaro only missed the second line by 0,039 seconds… “ It was better than expected. We narrowly missed Q2 in the morning. It was very painful to have to go through Q1 and I also damaged a tire. I then had to use a medium tire for my second run in Q2. The question is what I could have done there with a soft tire. I was 0,039 seconds behind Crutchlow in row 2. We missed a better position in the morning and afternoon by a few milliseconds. I hope it works better in the race ».
The youngest of the two brothers I will espargaro Explain : " the high temperatures were very challenging so we didn't expect much. I think the bike is easier to turn. The tires fit us a little better. The racing pace is a little more constant. For our part, we worked a lot to get a little more grip at the rear of the bike and make cornering easier. »
“I paid dearly for an error: 38 thousandths”
« With the new soft tire, a 1'37,0 min would have been possible in Q2. I don't want to talk about the first line, but it would have been better. I'm disappointed. I made a mistake in the first sector in the morning, and I paid dearly. It cost me 38 thousandths. But we are in a good position and should be satisfied » assures the 29-year-old pilot.
« I think there will be a first group with Quartararo, Márquez and Viñales in the race. But we are well placed to be in the second group. We have to see what it will really be like. I hope people will be a little relaxed at the start, so that I will risk more and I will be at the front. No, joking aside, it will be very difficult with so many rounds. »
Pol specifies: “ You will not be allowed to overdo it. It gets harder than most guys expect. I will probably change the strategy a bit and not put so much pressure at the beginning, it will be very difficult for sure. Wind is also a problem in the afternoon, especially at turn 11. » A fatal turn for alex rins, who will be withdrawn on Sunday after his heavy fall.
MotoGP Jerez 1 J2: Q1 and Q2 times
