The first victory of his career has perhaps never been as close as it is today, but Pol Espargaro doesn’t seem to see only the glass half full after third place in the Qatar Grand Prix. He sees it really full. Starting very well from the second row, the Honda rider took command of the race and held it for 18 laps, even attempting a breakaway.
The choice of the soft tire on the rear, however, paid the bill in the final laps of the race, when he had to surrender to overtaking Enea Bastianini, then ending wide at turn 1 and also losing the place of honor in favor of Brad Binder. “Polyccio”, however, got on the podium with a huge smile on his face, because he believes that today he and his Honda have sent an important message to the whole MotoGP.
“It was a difficult race, because I knew that with the tires we would reach the end quite at the limit. The strategy was very different before starting the race: the idea was to be calm and try to manage, but then I found in the lead, I was fast so I tried to make my pace. I felt ready to win, but then with 5 or 6 laps to go I ran out of tires: the rear dropped to the right side and the front started to close, “Espargaro told Sky Sport MotoGP HD microphones.
“When Enea overtook me, I wanted to try to stay close to him, but his wake sucked me into braking, so I couldn’t stop the bike. I went a bit long there and Binder overtook me too. position is nice, but the message is even stronger: we are back and Honda has two riders who can fight for the World Championship, “he added defiantly.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Today he probably paid for his desire to stay in front and show everyone that he deserves the HRC, but the opportunity was too tempting to set up a waiting race and in the end it was still an excellent result to start the season.
“I didn’t expect to be so fast at the start of the race and so I ran out of tires. But the problem is that having never been in front last year, when I saw myself there I wanted to show that I can do what I did today. Maybe I exaggerated too soon, but starting the season in third position is great, so we have to be happy. Now let’s go to Mandalika, where I did well in the tests, and see if I can repeat myself. “
Indeed, this weekend Pol looked very fluid riding the renewed RC213V and the only flaw was that long one in the end of the race, so he believes this could really be the turning point.
“It’s made as precise as I like it. This is a track where I don’t usually ride fast, because there isn’t the kind of grip I like, so I can’t use the rear brake a lot. Despite that, I managed to do it. to be fast and in the race I wasn’t driving at the limit, I had a bit of a margin. When you can ride like this and be this fast, it’s really incredible, “he concluded.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
#MotoGP #Pol #Espargaro #message #strong #Honda