Pol Espargaró is gradually recovering from his terrible crash suffered during P2 of the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao. We will recall the medical assessment given at the time of his evacuation from the track in the Algarve, which must also review its copy in terms of safety in the coming months, under penalty of losing the competitions organized by Dorna: broken vertebrae, broken lower jaw, lung bruised. In total, eight fractures were diagnosed. On May 24, he appeared on the web after having lost 9 kg. The idea of retirement crossed his mind on his bed of pain, but now he only thinks about returning to his GASGAS Tech3 that his rookie teammate Augusto Fernandez placed in fourth place in the last see you at Le Mans. Enough to motivate him to be part of the next Italian Grand Prix. But both Hervé Poncharal and Pit Beirer call for caution.
Pol Espargaro is working hard so that his terrible mishap at turn 7 of the Portimao track is definitively put away in the bad memory department. “ I spoke to Pol yesterday and the day before yesterday ", reported Hervé Poncharal in an interview with speedweek. " He feels better and better. He has now contacted his surgeon and MotoGP medical director for examinations. Everything is evolving positively. Recovery is progressing faster than expected because Pol is an exceptional athlete ».
Certainly, but the time when we let the driver recover and determine his return to competition is over. So that the situation of Pol Espargaro is also closely watched by KTM, and in particular by the director of KTM Motorsport, Pete Beirer who lives every day with the consequences of a cripplingly injured back… “ You have good bone strength in the event of a fracture after eight or ten weeks. We have to wait until then. Pol has no pain in his lungs and ribs; everything returns to normal. He must now gain weight and build muscle. And we need to give the bone time to fuse 100% so that it is at least as stable as any healthy bone in case of another fall. You can achieve this after ten weeks at the earliest and not after six or seven », thus warns Pit Beirer.
« We will not let Pol Espargaró's return be dictated by the racing calendar, but by the approval of doctors »
The manager KTM warns that it is not his pilot who will set the deadlines: « we will not let Pol sit on a motorcycle until there is an MRI with which the doctors certify that the damaged vertebra is 100% calloused and healed. If not, we definitely won't let Pol ride the bike. We will not let Pol's return be dictated by the racing calendar, but by doctors' approval ».
A caution emphatically recalled by Hervé Poncharal : " I know the pilots. When they are hurt, they listen and act reasonably. But as soon as they put the helmet back on, everything changes. Then, the person is sometimes unrecognizable. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ". The Frenchman finishes: “ doctors say they can't give Pol the green light yet. But we can say that everything is going in the right direction in terms of recovery. We don't put pressure because Pol is the one who puts pressure on himself ».
