Pol Espargaro spots something "insane" as he returns to MotoGP
Brno "fantastic", but level of MotoGP riders "insane" as Pol Espargaro jumps back into competition in the Czech Republic on Friday.
Pol Espargaro was thrown in the deep end as he began his first competitive MotoGP appearance of the year with Friday practice at Brno.
The KTM test rider, called up to replace the injured Maverick Vinales at Tech3, began the day with 15th place in the drying morning session, then 17th in the storm-delayed afternoon hour.
The Spaniard lapped 1.8s behind Ducati leader Marc Marquez, and 0.9s from the top RC16 of team-mate Enea Bastianini.
“The level the guys have is insane,” Espargaro admitted after his first day back in competition. “It felt crazy today, because the last time I rode in the rain was quite a few months ago.”
The Spaniard, whose last MotoGP start was at Misano in 2024, was delighted to be back on track that has been missing from the calendar for the last five years.
“I think that we, the riders, had not realised how much we were missing this track until we got to ride it again today!
“This place is special: long, tricky, technical, with up and downs, fast and slow corners – you need to flow but also attack.
"It’s one of those old-school tracks. Racing here is fantastic.”
Pol Espargaro riding for Tech3 at Czech MotoGP
Espargaro is working with Vinales’ current RC16 configuration but is also doing some testing.
“I am working with Maverick’s bike, but with some settings similar to the ones I use during testing,” he explained.
“We made some small changes, on the electronics for example, to try bringing more data to the factory engineers. It has been a good day. I look forward to tomorrow on the dry.”
The 34-year-old's Saturday activities will begin with final practice followed by Qualifying 1, featuring Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo, as well as factory KTM star Brad Binder.
“Q1 is a tough one, with big names, so it will be a good opportunity to learn,” Espargaro added.
Meanwhile, Bastianini marked his return from illness with his strongest Friday of the season, securing a direct place in Qualifying 2 thanks to eighth place.
“I am still not feeling 100%, but we reached Q2 for the first time this season!” said Bastianini, who was sidelined by food poisoning in Germany.
“It’s important for us to have that top 10 straight on a Friday, and for me after a difficult week at home, it is good for morale."
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