Pol Espargaró will approach this weekend in Valencia with a big smile, as he will mark the last Grand Prix in the colors of Repsol Honda. A two-year purgatory will come to an end and despite the very politically correct speech before the event, the Spaniard is already only thinking of this Tuesday, November 8 which will see him find a KTM RC16 decorated with GASGAS. An impatience that Brad Binder, the official of the Mattighofen brand, only exacerbates with comments that can only make his mouth water…
But before that, Pol Espargaro faces his last Grand Prix this weekend with the team Repsol Honda. On the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, the youngest I will espargaro has been on the podium four times: a second place in 125cc in 2010 and three third places in 2009, 2018 and 2020. It will be a weekend full of emotions, my last with the Repsol Honda Team » he comments. “ I want to thank everyone at HRC, Repsol and the team for these two years ».
He adds : " together, we experienced incredible moments and we fought to overcome difficult times. Valencia is a circuit that I really like, we were unlucky last year but I want to say goodbye to everyone with a good weekend. Let's just enjoy this last run and focus on the positives we have achieved together. Thank you all ". In view of his record as a teammate of Marc Marquez, this concentration “ on the positive points that we achieved together » should not be very high intensity.
« There have been no major changes at KTM since the departure of Pol Espargaró«
This page turned, it will be the reunion with the family KTM in front of which Brad Binder carries himself with these good words: “ Pol is a great guy. It was a great pleasure to be his teammate during the 2020 season. We had a lot of fun. He certainly brings a lot of momentum to the team. It's great that he's coming back. It fits very well into the KTM family », comments the eldest Binder.
During the season MotoGP 2020, KTM celebrated his first MotoGP victory and regularly placed in the top 3. Pol Espargaro has won five podiums, but not a single success. For the South African, there should be no rehabilitation time for the Spaniard: “ I think Pol will be quite surprised because there have been no major changes since his departure », surprisingly points out Brad Binder. " Of course we now have a slightly different base setup, but it would also work with the setup he rode with last time. Of course the bike is definitely better in some ways, but little has changed ».
« The character of the machine and the basis of the motorcycle are very similar compared to its era. I think he knows what to expect ", ended Brad Binder, who assumes the spearhead role of KTM since the departure of Pol Espargaro.
