Five falls spread over the three days of the San Marino Grand Prix, then another on the Monday of the test in Misano, it's nothing to say that Pol Espargaró had the opportunity to evaluate the caliber of the gravel on the tracks. clearance of the circuit which also bears the name of Marco Simoncelli in recent days. A bad series which worried his boss on the ground Herve Poncharal. He thus recalled that his pilot was returning from serious injuries. This while KTM seeks to free up a place among its four RC16s to give one to Pedro Acosta in 2024. While the long and trying campaign far from the Old Continent will begin in ten days with the unprecedented Indian Grand Prix, the youngest Espargaró takes stock after this painful escapade on the banks of the Adriatic…
Pol Espargaro fell during Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix, in what was his fifth figure imposed by the law of gravity, then did it again during Monday's test on the same circuit during the morning session. He ranked twelfth, then he did not participate in the afternoon session, thus not worsening his score of six accidents in total over the four days spent on the site.
On this overall assessment, Pol Espargaro commented : " Everything started to bend a little on Friday. I wanted to go straight to Q2. I lost that for 24 thousandths. When I went to do the time trial, I made two mistakes on Saturday and had to start last. When you start last, the race is over ". However, among his accidents, there is one of which he says he is more victim than responsible: “ on Sunday morning, the tire locked at the first braking point. Something strange that I think is not our fault or the team's fault, but something external ».
Then he adds: “ but everything else is the search for the limit in the curve. In this case, mistakes are for learning. And the learning I didn't get all year has to come at some point. Obviously, I need time. I have the speed. I have speed, I have to put everything together and understand the format ". Words that recall the current atmosphere at KTMWhere Augusto Fernandez, Jack Miller and himself must prove themselves to keep their place against Peter Acosta, even though they have a contract which should give them peace of mind.
« Pol Espargaró suffered too many falls this weekend »
On the Monday test, completed only in the morning, the Spaniard commented: “ I had no intention of trying new things, because I must first understand what I have now. It was the first day when I returned to my style of driving, which I love. Until now, I was copying what other drivers were doing. And this generates a little doubts and limits in your driving. I focused on understanding the bike this morning, on taking a step back from what I was doing, and it worked really well for me ". Despite a fall which was also a great scare: “ at turn 11 I arrived fast, the bike was shaking a little and when I arrived at turns 12 and 13, I didn't have brakes. I braked, but nothing happened and I threw myself off the bike because I was fast and I couldn't stop it« ...
And on the box side, how do we analyze the situation of Pol Espargaro ? The team manager Nicolas Goyon answers, starting with the Sant Marin Grand Prix: “ Pol Espargaró suffered too many crashes this weekend, which didn't help boost his confidence. The race was difficult for him, he suffered a lot physically, and he fell, which is a huge disappointment for him ».
The Frenchman finishes with the test on the same Misano track: “ it was very important for him because it was the first time since his injury that he could have time to analyze and understand the directions taken by the Pierer Mobility riders since March. He tried a little ergo to help him feel better on the bike, and it was very good overall. He fell once, but he pushed, tested his limits, and that's exactly what he needs to do to get back to where he was before. It was a positive day ". After two consecutive meetings, the ten days which separate the protagonists from the next meeting MotoGP en India will not be too much to recharge the batteries...
