MotoGP Tests Misano Pol Espargaró: "we found something on the Honda that was making life difficult for us until now"

Pol Espargaró wanted to do these two days of testing in Misano to, by his own admission, calm the storm blowing under his helmet after having been confronted with so many headwinds on the Honda. A story that will end at the end of this season, when he will return to a KTM family who will offer him an RC3 decorated in GAGAS at Tech16. But we must finish this current campaign in the best possible conditions. These tests should help to listen to the Spaniard who is however awaiting confirmation of certain solutions found on other routes...

Pol Espargaro gritted his teeth to ride during these two days at Misano. With a painful wrist, which is the consequence of pileup at the start of the last San Marino Grand Prix of which he was one of the collateral victims, he finished his exercise with a time of 1'31.707. For comparison, his best time during the Grand Prix weekend in Misano was 1'32.075. But the pilot of 31 years old did not show off as he was beaten as best driver Honda by Marc Marquez who took back the handlebars of the RC213V, 100 days after having let go to undergo a fourth and final operation on his right arm, from which he is still recovering...

After 117 laps completed, Aleix's younger brother who left Misano with a broken finger has explained : " it was very good that I could ride. If you had asked me on Monday, I would have said it was impossible because I was in pain ". Then he adds: “ I was able to do a lot of tricks and I showed a good performance. But I intentionally stopped a little early so I wouldn't be left there with a big swelling on Wednesday and not be able to ride ».

Pol Espargaró meets us in Aragon

The pilot Honda explains what his work plan was, it being understood that he could not try the new products brought by HRC, given that he will be employed by a rival manufacturer in 2023: “ we tried to find out where we should move the weight. We actually found something on the bike that was making our life difficult so far. Now we could improve a little ". And he adds: “ unfortunately I can't go into details ».

« We have to compare ourselves to other drivers to understand if I am fast or not » he said. “ Our fastest lap was really fast. We had a good pace and were very consistent. We were very close to the fastest lap in the race on Sunday. Everyone has improved, but it's very interesting for us ". And he gives himself this objective: “ if we are better in Aragón than we were last time, then we will see that we did something right ».

He finishes : " we found an even better rhythm. However, in the end I was very exhausted, I had to adjust the brake on my wrist. That's why we stopped early. But overall it was a good two days, we were able to clarify some things on different situations this year ».