A week after the fall of Brno, Pol Espargaró experienced new disillusionment at the Red Bull Ring. However, until the red flag, he was leading at full speed, beginning to draw what seemed to be a sketch of victory. But by hanging on, Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli clipped his wings. He had to return to the pits, before restarting for a second half. On the way back, the RC16 was no longer the same animal, and here's why...
Pol Espargaro arrived in anger at the Red Bull Ring since Brno and he left with rage. This weekend, it will therefore still be necessary to take with a grain of salt for what will this time be a Styrian Grand Prix, on the same Austrian circuit. However, he seemed to have done the hardest part by taking the lead of the race on Sunday, but he had to cut his effort under a red flag displayed for the miracle that we know. From then on, everything had to be redone.
Sure, but Pol Espargaro already knew that mass had been said, hence his annoyance in the pits as soon as the race stopped. For what ? Here is the answer : " I didn't have another new medium rear tire. It was my fault, my team's fault. We didn't expect a red flag to appear in this race and it was displayed. In the first race we were very strong and I was able to escape Dovizioso. Then the flag appeared. We had to change the tires for this twenty lap race ».
« We put soft rear tires, which was a mistake. We didn't have the right tire for the second race », analyzed Pol Espargaro during the press conference. “ I couldn't stop the bike and was going far into the corner. In the first race I had the feeling that I could have even escaped. I was stronger than the others when braking, and that's why the second race was bad for me », he added in comments collected by Ivo Schützbach for speedweek.
“The scenario for my second race was clear”
« I felt better than in Brno. I really enjoyed the weekend, It makes me angry because we could have fought for victory. With the software, I lost all my braking potential, which is my strong point, and I had difficulty repeating the times of the first race. I made a lot of mistakes, I struggled to stop the bike and close the corners. It was as I imagined when I had to mount this tire: for three laps it went well with the soft tire, then the rear wheel locked up. After the red flag I arrived in the pits shaking my head because the scenario for my second race was clear » grumbles Pol.
That being said, he didn't have to hang on with Miguel Oliveira, who still had a medium and who was therefore more efficient. But who cares if the Portuguese also had a KTM. At the I will espargaro, you don't pass and it's all for yourself.
More Pol Espargaro can do it again this weekend, on the same circuit: “ I can't wait to race here again because I think we had the best bike on the grid in the first race. We were the fastest, in fact I was a little behind Dovizioso. I really want to run again. If we didn't race here again, I would be very angry because, like in Brno, we had the best bike. What happened happened and in the end I ran out of tire for the second race. We could have been candidates for victory “, declared the Spaniard.
MotoGP Red Bull Ring 1 J3: standings
