Pol Espargaró is, in the absence of Marc Marquez, the leader of the prestigious Honda Respol colors. A responsibility that falls on his shoulders from his first Grand Prix with an RC213V that he still has to understand. But the former KTM is doing well. He finished his first day in Qatar in tenth place, which means he is already provisionally in Q2. Of course, there is also a fall. But that's part of the learning...
Pol Espargaro was happy when taking stock of his first day at Qatar. Tenth, leader of Honda, potentially in Q2 and half a second behind the leader Jack Miller on his Ducati, the Spaniard, in fact, had something to smile about for his big debut on the RC213V: “ I feel good and I am very happy », Declares the 29-year-old pilot. “ The first day I was as fast as after the four days of testing. I'm only five tenths off the lead. If I had finished the last lap maybe I would be closer ».
And if this last round didn't end, it's because there was a fall. But the teammate of Stefan bradl smiled: “ I already said that you have to fall if you want to be fast. If there's a crash like that in free practice, it's fine. Of course, with a lot of risk, everything is less under control. I smiled in the box because there are basically two types of falls. When you are slow and you fall, it is extremely bitter. Then something is wrong. But when you are fast, then something is already possible. I'm looking for the limit. I now know where the tire says "no" » ».
He adds on this strategy that Marc Marquez has also always assumed: “ riding 1'53 laps here also means that we are all really, really fast. The Honda isn't really great here either! But it's really amazing and I was happy with it, even after the accident. I feel like a rookie with this bike, I still have a lot to learn ».
Pol Espargaro: " Everything is fine "
The youngest I will espargaro admits : " I had no way of knowing how we would ultimately be placed. Yamaha and Ducati are very fast here. I am satisfied with this position. It will be difficult to improve on Saturday. If someone improves in FP3, I have the chance to do so too. Hopefully no one can improve the weather tomorrow. Then we will be in Q2. "
« Everything's fine, even if it doesn't look like it on the outside » concludes the former World Champion of Moto2. " Half a second from the summit on the first day is pretty good. We don't know what the track will look like tomorrow at noon. The day was pretty good ". Regarding the evolution of the track, Pol Espargaro also alludes to the evolution of weather conditions, with the fear of a strong wind likely to bring sand back onto the track. Especially for Sunday, race day.
Late yellow flags prevented any last minute improvements! ❌@polespargaro's crash at Turn 15 was the cause! 💢#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/ru1XfxPno5
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 26, 2021
MotoGP Qatar 1 J1: times
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
