Sepang. February 5, 2022.- Pol Espargaró concluded the first day of pre-season testing in Sepang with the ninth fastest time (1.59.353), almost a second off the day’s benchmark set by his brother Aleix, and just behind Marc Márquez, who returned to action after more than three months out due to injury.
For Honda these tests are crucial, since after two years of poor results and a difficult bike for their riders, the Japanese want to have a winning bike again.
“It is difficult to draw conclusions on the first day, the Aprilias have been riding here for days, perhaps they have had a little advantage, other riders have mounted new soft rubber at the end of the session, while we have not. So we have to take today’s results with tweezers”, explained Pol at the end of the day.
“The bike is revolutionary, it is very different, it can only be seen visually, this means that being a new bike we have to adapt. It is complicated but we are very happy, Honda has made a great effort bringing four bikes to each rider to this test, so that it improves and is a good machine for everyone, not just for one”, he explained.
“All the lines are a bit more tuned aerodynamically, the bike is more well made. The engine gives us a bit more power and we have tried some aero packages and one has worked particularly well, we will continue to confirm that tomorrow,” added Polyccio.
Honda already took a new bike to the test in November, in Jerez, and has continued to work on the details and the engine . “With a new bike it’s all a bit more stressful, but it went well. This bike is a bit different from the one in Jerez. This engine has a bit more oomph. This bike is completely new compared to last year’s,” he insisted.
“What we are trying to do is make this bike better, and we believe that the potential is greater. The progression is good,” he added. “We have gained a lot of grip behind, especially at the entrance of the corners. It was something that we all asked for, because it is related to safety. At 3 in the afternoon, with a lot of heat and the worst conditions, we did not lose grip”.
For Pol, it is key to be competitive from the first moment, so as not to have to be in tow for the entire season.
“We can’t wait for the second part of the season to be ready. It’s mandatory to be ready in Qatar. The bike isn’t ready yet, we’re on the first day. But that happens when you put a completely new bike on the track and you only have five days of tests”, he valued.
“We have started the test with each rider using the 2022 bikes. I think if we all go together as one, we can build something big,” he said, referring to Marc, Alex Márquez and Takaaki Nakagami.
