Pol Espargaró put his foot in the KTM dish in a shocking interview which could earn him some recriminations from Mattighofen. Given the course of his arguments, he can only expect it. The Spaniard who, despite a contract until 2024, was pushed out of the Tech3 GASGAS team to make way for Pedro Acosta empty his bag, but with more regrets than resentment. We suspected, in view of present and past events, that the Austrians governed like a hussar. But after Pol's revelations, we see that it's even worse than that...
This is an interview that will undoubtedly make the walls of the Pierer Mobility Group headquarters shake, but Pol Espargaro had the courage to do it. With this preliminary precaution which will not protect him from a backlash that we can expect: “ I feel bad because I don't like criticizing the factory I work for, the one that pays me and takes care of me ».
It is therefore with a troubled soul that he sends the sequel which concerns Austrian governance once again sadly revealed by wet-fingered management of the careers of its pilots. We will recall the facts: KTM had signed five riders for MotoGP in 2024 while the brand only has four RC16s on the starting grid. It was therefore necessary to put one aside, to give a place to Peter Acosta. And the joke was Pol Espargaro.
« This could have been 100% preventable. ", says the Spaniard who adds: " it was a management error on the part of KTM. We have discussed this aspect several times and they have many contractual or driver management deficiencies, and this has been one of them ". So here it is Stefan pierer and his staff sent back to their dear studies.
Pol Espargaro insists: “ you can't have a rider who has the possibility of moving to MotoGP, and it was obvious that Pedro Acosta would have that path, and have other riders sign like renew them knowing that you're going to find yourself in that situation. Management was very bad », summed up the youngest member of the family I will espargaro in his intervention on DAZN relayed by Todocircuito.
Pol Espargaro: “ I stopped using social media because of them because they controlled me »
Thereupon, he lifts the veil on the other side of the scene of the Styrian plain: « they are tough, they are not like the Japanese who never say no to you. They are very direct. When I arrived, II stopped using social media because of them because they controlled me and said to me 'the other day you were doing this and you could have done this other thing.' There was no excuse, they were straight as an ax to the heart ". And he makes this assessment: “ other pilots like Zarco were destroyed in less than six months, they are very tough ».
Looking to the future, since his contract ends in 2024, Pol Espargaro will consider whether to continue with the tester role: “ if I sign up with this factory, they will have options in 2025. If I have other options, in MotoGP, to go compete elsewhere, and I see this bike that I saw the birth of winning a world title, it will give me as much pleasure as anger ».
He also mentions his parenthesis Honda : " I chose the Honda route even though I knew it was one of the most complicated, knowing that it wasn't going well and with a fairly significant penalty for leaving. I didn't leave for the money, but because of this ego that we have, the pilots, and which leads us to make mistakes. I really wanted to succeed at Honda and I thought this was the necessary step ". We are now awaiting the reaction of the Pierer Mobility Group…
Pol mentions that he did “ the change at Honda when I felt better at KTM, there I felt indestructible ", and he said to himself that " these next two years are going to be my years', but what happened happened, a lot of falls, injuries… And I arrive at GasGas and I say, my redemption… And Portimao came. These are not my best three years “, finishes the Catalan.
