Johann Zarco vs Pol Espargaró in Brno the epilogue? Perhaps so, because this clash which has caused ink and saliva to flow has just received an evaluation which could well and truly close the story. It comes from the sporting director of a KTM brand which is now winning Grands Prix. Pit Beirer has indeed spoken out on this fact of racing. And unlike his counterpart Paolo Ciabatti who unfailingly supports the one who was on a GP19, he takes a step back by recognizing the merit of his former driver's third place. He also takes the risk of definitively surpassing his champion Pol Espargaró… It is true that he is leaving for Honda.
Coat of arms KTM showed that his RC16 could win Grands Prix and discovered he had the driver for it, in the young Brad Binder. Brno, the pure product of the manufacturer's sector and Red Bull was masterful, so much so that we expected at such a celebration Pol Espargaro got his feet caught in the carpet.
Would he have been able to bring his rookie teammate into line before the arrival of the Czech Republic Grand Prix ? We will never know, because he met his former teammate along the way, in this case Johann zarco. Who continued his route and interrupted that of the Spaniard.
Pol Espargaro was furious and probably still is. He will be even more so when he discovers how his boss feels. Pete Beirer on this event… “ Pol's collision with Johann Zarco was annoying », admits the racing director of KTM. " And I definitely don't want to blame Zarco here. If you're on the outside like Pol, you could say you had the front wheel in front and you could be the moral winner. We know it. But you have nothing for that ».
“Johann spoke very well of us in Brno. This respect is mutual”
As a former racing driver, Beirer shows understanding of the aggressive style of zarco. " Johann does not have a contract for next year. He hasn't been on the podium in almost two years. As an opponent, you have to know that he naturally fights with everything he has to stay on the podium. It was a shitty situation. I don't want to bring up the Zarco-KTM story at all. Johann was interviewed after his third place on KTM. He spoke very well of us there. This respect is mutual ».
On the past, Beirer still makes an allusion: “ we didn't go well together in 2019. It's a shame, but now he and we can get on the podium. We now have proof that our brand can be competitive in MotoGP. And we also knew that Johann is a good racing driver. Otherwise we wouldn't have hired him for 2019. He then made the first move at the Austrian Grand Prix last year. He wanted to terminate the contract for 2020, not us ».
Beirer ends at the microphone of Günther Wiesinger of speedweek : " Johann often proved himself to be a brilliant racing driver. The way he drew that ray on that line on the “long lap” cannot be improved. He clearly deserved his third place on Sunday. It's all good ". For Pol Espargaro also ?
