Although he denies it, as if to convince himself that he still has hope, the trend in the paddock is that Pol Espargaró will live his last season on a Honda Repsol. His podium during the first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar would therefore have been his swan song because since then, his journey has been punctuated by disappointment. We have already heard him complain on more than one occasion about the performance of the new RC213V, and after the French Grand Prix, he has it again. But not only. The situation is such that he is downright nostalgic for his old KTM…
Pol Espargaro proclaims to anyone who will listen that he does not feel fast, without strong points, suffering when exiting corners, braking... And all this, in the middle of a year where his future hangs by a thread. Unless the die has already been cast, which allows us to immediately and without delay purify this liability and thus move on to what comes next. Given the state of the market, it is anything but marked by certainty. That being said, the Spaniard has long been an official driver KTM, a factory which has not yet decided anything on the continuation of its collaboration with Miguel Oliveira, and vice versa…
Is this why the Spaniard, in his analyses, puts the RC16 as a reference point? On the eve of Italian Grand Prix which will take place next weekend, he says: “ I don't feel fast on the Honda at the moment. I was always angry about that when I rode a motorcycle, because I used to feel that it was strong at one point. On the KTM it was very strong when braking. I remember a race in Misano where they were much faster than me, I ended up on the podium because I braked much later than them. It was my strong point and I pushed it to the limit. » It seems that with the RC16, those were the good old days...
Pol Espargaro: “ I feel like I don't have any strong points with the Honda.«
But with the Honda, there is no satisfaction to be gained: “ I feel like I don't have any strong points with the Honda. I suffer when braking, I suffer in the middle of a curve and I have difficulty accelerating. Arriving twenty seconds behind the first, because I don't have any strong points, that means that I don't feel fast, that I'm not fast and that I don't ride well.
To make himself understood, he returns to the case KTM, his old motorcycle with which he cannot even compete: “ one of the big problems right now with this bike is that I can't overtake. I don't feel like I have a strong point to attack other drivers. I lost a lot of acceleration, with pure grip I was behind the KTMs, behind Brad Binder, who doesn't brake too badly and braking is the only place where he could gain time, but as he was losing acceleration he needed to make up time when braking."
Pol Espargaro add on Todocircuito : " I tried to overtake the KTMs about six times during the race and during this sixth time I came out wide because it's impossible. So as soon as I'm behind someone, I can't overtake. » One last remark that his teammate Marc Marquez also formulated, but without highlighting this point, a competing brand.
