Pol Espargaró: “It is impossible for Bagnaia to see that little flag”

After a preseason that raised expectations around him, the new signing of Honda has not quite found the key that allows him to square a decent timed. This Sunday, in Portimao, he will be forced to wriggle through the peloton again after finishing fourth in the first qualifying session, which will place him 14th on the starting grid.

In this sense, we must not forget the tremendous accident suffered by the Spaniard in the last free trial, and which led him to have to face Q1 with only one motorcycle and in great pain.

The fact of having been left out of the final qualifying round allowed him to follow it on television, and that made it easier for him to offer his opinion about the controversial decision of the stewards that annulled Pecco Bagnaia the lap that would have given the Ducati pole.

The circumstance occurs that in Portimao the system of luminous panels was established that theoretically should facilitate the signaling of the flags so that the runners can see them. However, this did not happen in the case of Bagnaia, who, judging by the images offered on television, could hardly see the marshal who waved the yellow flag after the fall suffered by Miguel Oliveira.

“There’s no way Pecco could see that little flag. I understand the marshals, and that when there is a rider on the ground [who does not slow down _] can be penalized. But in those moments you don’t see anything, and less at that point, almost blind, at more than 180 kilometers per hour . I saw the repetition of Pecco’s action and it is impossible that he could see it”, considered Espargaró, almost as sore from the blow he gave himself, as he was pissed off for not being able to get a fast lap.

“Falling down when you’re setting up qualifying to go to the limit is not the best thing. I feel strong, I have speed and I am not worried. But I am not able to do a fast lap without mistakes. And that’s what pisses me off”, lamented the youngest of the brothers from Granollers (Barcelona), who arm himself with patience to accumulate what he thinks he lacks: kilometers with the Honda.

“It’s all a matter of riding more, adding more kilometers and understanding the bike better. It will help me to go to circuits like Le Mans or Jerez , where I already have references. What happens to me is that in the same partial I can be two tenths faster in one lap than in another, and that is something that did not happen to me with the KTM . With the Honda, if you don’t know very well where the limit is, then it’s a problem”, the #44 clinched.