Pol Espargaró’s chances of mounting a challenge on the KTM podium in Jerez, following a qualification error, are “fully cooked” in the race.
After matching KTM’s dry MotoGP result, sixth and just one moment from the podium at the opening of the season, Pol Espargaró’s chances of repeating the feat were severely cut off when he fell into the standings by Jerez at the time.
That left Espargaró at 12th place on the grid, facing the fifth one a week earlier, and was temporarily discovered “boiled” through the peloton in the heat of the oven.
“My mistakes started and I was paying for them today,” Espargaró said. “In the first few laps, I was fighting with guys I shouldn’t have fought. We lost about 5-6 seconds [in front of the leaders] and when a factory motorcycle takes you 5-6 seconds at first, how can you recover?
“It was my fault, but it started. Array We said it would be difficult to overtake, the front tire gets very hot when you’re behind someone and the tension increases. It’s very unlikely that he’ll pass the brakes. I’m using the brakes 100%.
“Our speed at the start was not the best. I saw them up close, but I made a mistake trying to overtake Petrucci and Zarco and my brother passed me.
“I was struggling with them looking to overtake them and absolutely boiled just because I was them. There was incredible warmth. I had the feeling midway through the race that the warmth beat me.”
“My brother crashed in front of me and Petrucci, so I think it’s better to finish and take the trouble in this short championship. It’s definitely the toughest race of my life.
“For me, the heat is much worse than that of Malaysia or Thailand. In fact, I’ve never felt anything as bad and hot as this race. I never felt my hands burn like they were here.”
“The first race I was able to drive, here in this race, after 4 laps, I was absolutely cooked. I’m looking to get some new air directly because I couldn’t breathe and I’ve never felt that way before in Malaysia or Thailand.” , even when injured.”
The injuries and technical unrest to come allowed Espargaró to regain seventh place, although 17.5 seconds Petronas Yamaha winner Fabio Quartararo, compared to 6.9 seconds the previous week.
The effects of the 7-6 also mean that Espargaró left Jerez in a tie for fourth place in the world championship with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda).
“If we had been told before coming to Jerez that we would be 4th in the championship after those two rounds, we would never have believed it! That’s the painting KTM has made this winter,” Espargaró said.
“Not only does the motorcycle look good, but they also noticed that factories like Yamaha didn’t finish. They had a lot of problems with the engines, also Aprilia and Ducati. No one at KTM had a challenge with the engine.
“It shows that it is a team game and that it is not an individual game as seen on TV. It’s a team effort and that’s why we’re fourth in the championship. Of course, in preseason, we didn’t. I think we’d be in the 6-7 more sensible so gently, but in the end we’re in the positions of some.
“We had a bad start today, the temperature is very high and it is still not a general condition, yes, we are doing well and we are happy. I didn’t have a smart career today, but it all started. yesterday.”
Despite his disappointment, Espargaró was the only KTM pilot to finish on Sunday.
Brad Binder, his rookie teammate, pushed Tech3 KTM colleague Miguel Oliveira into a more sensitive corner and crashed into an incident. Oliveira’s partner, Iker Lecuona, also fell.
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