Pol Espargaro: ‘Things happening on KTM that riders can’t control’

KTM test rider Pol Espargaro says “there are things happening on the bike that we are still unable to control” following his stand-in outing at the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix.

Former racer-turned-tester, Pol Espargaro, has been called up by KTM to fill in for the injured Maverick Vinales at the Tech3 squad for the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix.

Carrying out testing duties alongside 31-time MotoGP race winner Dani Pedrosa, Espargaro’s feedback has proven extremely valuable.

Espargaro’s Australian Grand Prix weekend showed he’s lost none of his speed, with the Spaniard qualifying eighth on the grid and grabbing points in both races.

Taking ninth in the sprint, Espargaro completed the top 10 in Sunday’s grand prix behind KTM team-mates Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder.

Espargaro was convinced his race last Sunday could have been better, but ran into tyre wear even though “the rear spin is pretty good”.

“We are happy with our result, but after yesterday’s sprint and today’s warm-up, we felt like we had a better opportunity for today, especially with the wind,” he said.

“I have the feeling that there are things that are happening on the bike that we are still unable to control as riders.

“The rear spin is pretty good, but somehow we are destroying the tyres much faster than the other riders on the grid.

“In my case, I felt pretty fast at the start of the race.

“I was following Alex [Marquez], I felt that I could stay there for a while, but somehow I dropped and I lost a lot of positions.

“Eight laps to the end, the tyres were gone, so we tried our best to survive until the end.

“It is a learning process, it is good to be here, to be feeling these things, which we will try to understand and improve.”

Pedro Acosta was especially frustrated with his Australian Grand Prix weekend, noting that he was showing “70%” of his potential and couldn’t hold onto his rear tyres.

He faded from an early podium charge to fifth at the chequered flag.