At KTM, obviously, when things are not going well, we talk about it openly and frankly. And we even open up about it in the press. Sports boss Pit Beirer said his pilot Pol Espargaro was not entirely satisfactory last season. An assessment that the Spaniard did not confirm, even saying that he had heard nothing of the sort. Therefore, the same Beirer gives him a booster shot...
Certainly, this exchange will not be a drama between the parties. Because there was the podium in the last Valencia race, the first for the RC16 at this level of competition. Fortunately, because we would still be talking about this ramp up to Mattighofen. Nothing will definitely have been spared Espargaro Pol in a 2018 campaign where he experienced serious accidents, one of which could have left him in the same wheelchair as Pit Beirer.
But the latter's empathy has its limits. On speedweek, he warns with a laugh: “ Pol doesn't give enough in this tough discipline that is MotoGP. He doesn't agree with me? He shouldn't contradict me too often. It's not good for anyone. But I stand by my criticism. If I want to be pragmatic and perform well in this sport, I have to look around me and take a look at Marc Marquez and say to myself: but how does he do every weekend? He rides whether it rains or not, whether it's hot or cold, he always tries to be one with the bike and the track. This is why we had long and numerous discussions with Pol. I think they did him good and contributed to his performance in Valencia ».
He explains the metamorphosis thus: “ there was a big difference between the race in Aragon where we were angry and the one in Valencia. Just look at the number of laps Pol did there. He was satisfied from Friday, he stayed on the track, he also drove with the wet tires during testing, doing between five and seven laps. Before, he wasn't turning enough and he wanted to set a time quickly. He was very disappointed if he failed. When it comes to emotions, he's like a roller coaster. His success in Valencia was significant: ride, ride fast and do several fast laps ».
Beirer finished : " When playing cards, the best deal always wins. He was clearly told what was expected of him. We dissected that. Team manager Mike Leitner totally agrees with me. We hammered that into him. He understood. And it was great to see him progress during the last race before the winter break. Because it is on this performance that we are building the future season today. ».
