Pol: “I need to take it in a mature way” will do “most wild-cards”
Despite having a contract for next season, the 32-year-old is making way for Moto2 title leader Pedro Acosta, who will join Augusto Fernandez in GASGAS colours at Tech3.
“Finally, we were talking with the factory and we arrived at an agreement for the next year to have some races, most of the wild-cards, and just supporting the team and the factory in another way than I've been doing this year,” Espargaro said at Mandalika on Thursday.
“Also we have seen that the new program of racing is quite demanding and there have been a lot of injuries. We hope not, but if someone gets injured like in my case this year when Jonas [Folger] replaced me for many races, that will be my role also.”
Nonetheless, “For sure I would like to be a [full-time] racer for next year because actually, I feel that I'm fast,” added Espargaro who missed the first half of the season due to serious injuries in the Portimao season opener.
“I'm not as fast as I would like to be, but also I've been away for quite a long time. The bike had changed a lot and I had not enough time to be as fast as I want. But even like that, I've been fast enough.
“But I need to take it in a mature way, don't be like a child, screaming and crying! Just taking new chapters of my life in the most mature and best way possible, in the most positive and proactive way I can.”
Likewise, Espargaro understood why the decision hadn’t been made sooner when more alternative seats were still available for 2024.
“I've been away for the first half of the year, which means also that for the manufacturer it’s not easy to take an option and for sure they didn't want to put me out after the injury I had, they wanted to test me and all this.”
The Spaniard insisted that money hadn’t been the defining factor in agreeing to step back.
“Well, it was a long talk [with KTM]. It's not everything about the money because I don't want to talk in a rude way, but my bank account is OK. I don't need more money,” he said. “I've been racing for so many years, and luckily I did not spend all the money I gained. So I'm OK with that.
“Just it's about to feel, as I believe every human in this world wants, like you have a [purpose] in life... And not just talking about next year, but also to feel in the short or long future that I can be useful for the factory.”
Nonetheless, Espargaro isn’t ruling out a return to full-time MotoGP racing in 2025.
“Well, there are options to be a racer in 2025, maybe inside the Pierer Mobility Group or maybe outside, I don't know. But for sure I want to stay in the Pierer Mobility Group and there are options to be a racer in 2025,” he said.
“It's too early now because it's in one year and a half, so it's still it's too far away, but all the options are open and just I want to be competitive doing whatever I do.
“Nobody knows about the future. So the future is open, for everyone.”
Something Espargaro is confident of is that Acosta, on course to win his second world title in three seasons of grand prix racing, “is going to be a good rider for the manufacturer in the future.”
Espargaro will start the final six events of his present full-time MotoGP career in Indonesia this weekend.
