He is one of those who doesn't really have to rejoice about the new technical situation in MotoGP this year. That said, in his box he is still the one who suffers the least, since if Bradley Smith sometimes manages to beat him in practice, he cannot claim the same consistency in the race. This one is Pol Espargaró who, without making any noise, is fourth in the championship!
In three Grands Prix contested, the one who, in the Tech3 box, is under Yamaha contract claims two sixth places and one seventh position. Not really anything to brag about with an M1 as a tool, but this consistency and the horrors of his opponents give him the possibility of claiming a place among the top four of the provisional general classification. Behind Marc Márquez, Jorge Lorenzo et Valentino Rossi. We couldn't dream of a better neighborhood as a MotoGP rider.
That said, nothing is easy this year for the younger brother of Aleix who is also gritting his teeth. After Austin, Pol explains: “ I definitely don't feel comfortable on the bike, but I did my best to stay on my two wheels. In Austin, we opted for a soft front and it was initially very complicated to follow the drivers in front with a full tank. Once it emptied a little, I was able to start attacking ».
« I first caught up with my teammate, then I saw falls in front of me. I had some moments myself, so I decided to slow down the pace a little to come away with good points. This is what we achieved and here we are now fourth in the championship. The next race will be in Europe at my home ground in Jerez and I'm looking forward to it. I believe that this year, we will first have to be consistent to have a good championship ».
Wisdom that delights the boss Hervé Poncharal, without making him lose his lucidity: “ the results may not seem terrible, but on balance, here he is fourth overall. We knew that these first races would be complicated with difficult circuits for us and it is always important to arrive in Jerez well placed in the standings ».
« Obviously, we're super happy because he's going to arrive in Europe for his 4th national Grand Prix, and that's a fact. Now there are people who are a few points behind and have one or two Did Not Finish, and that's what made the difference. He scored in all three races, and that's what we have to do because the first three Grands Prix are tricky Grands Prix. He played well, which allowed us to occupy third place in the team championship.
But there are 15 races left! So we are very happy, but we know very well that we must not puff out our chests or boast, because we are not efficient enough”.
Pol Espargaro precede Dani Pedrosa of a unit and Hector Barbera of two. While the future of his teammate Smith is assured at KTM for next year, the Spaniard's plans are still to be defined.