Until now, Pol Espargaró has maintained that Honda was happy with its performance despite the lack of results since that first podium achieved in Qatar. However, his most recent speech has changed, to the point of questioning whether he will continue to wear Repsol’s orange jumpsuit.
Apart from the 16 points obtained in Losail, the Spaniard has only managed to add 24 more, in the six subsequent tests, a background that leads him to occupy 12th position in the general points table, with 14 less than Márquez, absent in two of the citations (Indonesia and Argentina).
If the market was already boiling, Suzuki ‘s lowering of the blind at the end of this season has revolutionized the transfer between representatives a little more, and the paddock installed this weekend in Mugello is a coming and going of agents, who They meet with most of the teams with the intention of finding the best possible accommodation for their clients. One of those looking for a destination is Joan Mir, who has been repeatedly related to Honda.
While waiting for a communication from the brand with the golden wing, there are elements that make it easy to imagine a change of scenery for the youngest of the brothers from Granollers (Barcelona) with a view to 2022. Even more so if it is the protagonist himself who highlights.
A couple of hours after Márquez announced the operation that will take him out again for a few months, Espargaró attended to the journalists who had traveled to Mugello, and spoke of the role he will have to play since the absence of his workshop neighbor . Honda is in full evolution of the prototype for this course, and also for 2023. On paper, the absence of Márquez should give him a very relevant role in that development process, but, based on his statements, everything seems to indicate that Honda has other plans.
The Japanese manufacturer has brought to Mugello a series of new components, some of them of considerable importance, such as a chassis and a swingarm. While Márquez and Nakagami have been able to test them, Espargaró has not yet.
“The problem is that I haven’t been able to test any of the new parts that Marc and ‘Taka’ have tested, so I don’t know what direction they are taking. I know that Marc is using a different frame and swingarm than mine,” Espargaró replied. , which has openly acknowledged being in contact with various brands, which might be interested in its services.
“I depend on Honda, but the problem is that I haven’t started testing any new chassis and swingarm yet. Let’s hope those parts arrive and I can start to lend a hand in the evolution of the bike that we have now; I don’t know if the next year because I don’t know if I’m going to be here”, added the Catalan. “But I am a professional who will give my best until the last day wherever I am working”, the #44 clinched.
