Last weekend at Motegi Pol Espargaro finished the race in 12th position, 17 seconds behind the winner Jack Miller and 10 seconds behind his teammate Marc Marquez. The Spaniard finished the Japanese GP in fourth position after taking pole on Saturday, the first of the season for Honda. The inertia in which the eight-time world champion finds himself has nothing to do with that of his teammate, who gives the impression that this championship is getting very long.
Espargaro is currently 16th in the overall standings, 26 points behind his teammate, who is 15th and best Honda rider in the championship. This despite Marc having lost eight of the sixteen races disputed.
Paradoxically, Honda’s best result to date is Polyccio’s third place in Qatar, the inaugural event in which he fought for victory until the last lap with Enea Bastianini, winner in Losail, and Brad Binder, second. From that moment the problems began for HRC and for its riders, conditioned by the lack of traction of the rear of the RC213V and its very slow cornering pace.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
From that first and only podium of the season, the path of the younger of the Espargaro brothers has drawn a downward trend, with ninth place in Portimao as the best result.
Suzuki’s farewell to the World Championship had a clear impact on the market and a decisive influence on the strategy of several teams. Honda was not unscathed and targeted Joan Mir as Pol’s replacement in view of 2023. The agreement between the Japanese house and the Majorcan was not announced until GasGas announced the arrival of the # 44. This happened on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix in August, with almost half of the season still to be played.
Throughout this time, Espargaro has always revealed his willingness to help Honda in the development of the RC213V, especially during the period in which Marquez was absent. However, in this sense Honda preferred to focus on Takaaki Nakagami while waiting for the Cervera rider, who returned to the track in the Misano tests, following the San Marino Grand Prix, to then compete in the Aragon GP.
“It is clear that my history with Honda ended many races ago. From Qatar I have the same bike. When there are no improvements, there are no new parts, but the others keep working, it becomes very evident, ”Espargaro told Motorsport.com at Motegi. “If you have problems, but despite this they don’t bring you new things and you continue to have the same bike, it’s all clear. From the first problems of lack of grip that we had from the first race in Qatar, I have not received anything new “, continued the Spaniard, who will wear the GasGas colors next year despite driving a KTM RC16, on paper identical to that of Jack Miller and Brad Binder.
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