Balaton Park safety “not bad” but Hungarian MotoGP to be “physical race” - Pol Espargaro

KTM MotoGP test rider Pol Espargaro is expecting a “physical race” at the Hungarian Grand Prix at Balaton Park.

The Spanish rider tested at Balaton ahead of the Dutch TT in June, along with other factory MotoGP test riders such as Yamaha’s Augusto Fernandez, Ducati’s Michele Pirro, and Honda’s Stefan Bradl.

World Superbike riders have also ridden at Balaton, with mixed opinions. Honda HRC’s duo of Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona were open in their disliking of the track, while Axel Bassani questioned Balaton’s safety, and Danilo Petrucci expressed his optimism about the new venue despite concerns over the asphalt in some places.

Espargaro fits into the Petrucci column, if any, saying the track is comparable to Sachsenring in terms of its size, and saying, contrary to Bassani, that safety conditions are “not bad”.

“Sure, it’s not the longest track,” Pol Espargaro told TNT Sports during the German Grand Prix weekend.

“It’s fun. It’s okay.

“We have tracks like this, [like] Sachsenring – it’s not a very long place but we get used to it.

“So, it’s a matter of getting used to it.

“What’s most important is that the safety conditions are not bad.”

Espargaro added that short length of the layout (4.1km, or 2.5 miles), will make it a physical race for the riders.

“On the tyres and physically: it’s short, but it means that the riders will need to make a lot of laps on it – more than 30 laps, it looks like (the Sprint will be 13 laps and the grand prix 27 laps),” Espargaro said.

“There are a lot of corners, not many straights.

“The track is very grippy because the asphalt is so new, so [...] – if you make a mix of everything: temperature, grip, a lot of laps – it’s going to make a physical race.”