Pol Espargaro “chilling a bit too much” before Malaysian MotoGP crash
The Tech3 KTM stand-in admits he was “too chilled” before his Malaysian MotoGP fall.
Pol Espargaro admitted he might have been “chilling a little bit too much” before crashing out of Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP.
The KTM test rider was again instantly challenging the full-time RC16 riders during his fourth event of the season in place of Maverick Vinales at Tech3.
But this time, Espargaro was unable to walk away with a top ten finish.
A Sprint clash with Luca Marini cost him three places, for eleventh on Saturday, before making a "painful" early mistake of his own in the grand prix.
Espargaro was in twelfth place, where he had started, when he fell at Turn 4, later admitting he might have been “too chilled” at the start of what was sure to be a tyre management race.
"It is painful to crash so early in the race, of course, so there is not much to say. However, we need to take the positives, because I think that we had in our hands another top 10,” Espargaro said.
“Our speed was decent in the first laps, but it is racing, and a small mistake can change your Sunday. I think that everyone at KTM did a decent job at trying to keep the tyres alive, we were working a lot yesterday to prepare for the main race.
“When I was behind Brad (Binder), I think that I was chilling a little bit too much, as I did not want to make a mistake, so maybe I waited a little bit too long, and I was probably not in the right position in the turn I crashed.
“It is a pity that I could not finish, but I am really happy that we have 3 KTMs in the top 10 today!"
Despite the early exit, Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon praised the Spaniard’s overall contribution.
“Pol Espargaro had a really positive weekend once again, qualified directly in Q2, and a finish close to the top 10 in the sprint. Unfortunately, he had a small crash while fighting for the top 10 positions today,” Goyon said.
“Anyway, he delivered another great weekend for us, he has shown that our package can be competitive, and we want to thank him again for these two rounds in Australia and Malaysia.”
Vinales, recovering from mid-season shoulder surgery, is expected to attempt another MotoGP return at the next round in Portimao.
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