Pol Espargaró: "For the time being, the Honda riders have not complied"

April 22, 2022

Portimao.- At the gates of the fifth stop on the calendar, the youngest of the brothers from Granollers (Barcelona) occupies eleventh place in the general table of points, in which he is 38 points behind the leader, Enea Bastianini.

As much as it is true that fortune has not been with Polyccio in the four previous races, that distance from the head of the classification may begin to be an element of concern, unless it is reduced in the coming dates. So far, Pol Espargaró’s best result so far this year was third place at Losail , the opening event. In Indonesia he finished 12th; in Argentina he fell when he was circulating the fourth and tried to prevent Alex Rins (third) from escaping, and in Austin, two weeks ago, a gastroenteritis left him doubled since Thursday (he finished 13th).

In Portimão, Espargaró once again made it clear that his sensations on the renewed RC213V are good, and that he simply needs to materialize that harmony he has with it.

After the first day, he finished second in the combined time table, less than half a tenth behind Marc Márquez, his neighbor, who was the fastest of all.

“The bike is better than last year’s, both in the dry and in the wet, and that is very good for everyone. We have speed. It is significant that we are first and second,” said the Spaniard.

“The bike is very fast, I already showed it in the preseason. I don’t think we have a problem with speed, but with strange circumstances. In Qatar we chose more tires; in Argentina I fell running fourth. In Austin I was fatal,” he said. that of Honda, which is still looking for its first victory in the heavy bike category.

“I’m not obsessed with winning; I’m obsessed with being eleventh with this bike. My goal is to be first at the end of the year. For that you have to win, but I think it will fall under its own weight,” deepened #44.

Despite all this positivism, Espargaró appeals to his self-criticism and that of the rest of the Japanese manufacturer’s drivers to begin to recover lost ground. “It is essential to start climbing positions because the first ones take us a lot of points. When I say that I want to be world champion I don’t do it to look good, but because it is a challenge that I have and we have with the team”, warned Pol. “This bike has to be fighting for the World Championship, and not only me, but the four Hondas have to be ahead. Unfortunately, I am the first of them in the standings. At the moment, the Honda riders have not fulfilled our obligations”, settled the Catalan.

Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team