If Pol Espargaró’s future at Honda seemed to be in doubt for weeks, the latest decision taken by the Tokyo manufacturer puts the Catalan rider in a very delicate situation, apparently having lost the confidence of those responsible for HRC.
Honda brought two important new parts to Mugello last week, a swingarm and a frame, just one unit of each, which were fitted to Marc Márquez’s RC213V. After announcing that the driver from Cervera was going to undergo surgery and leave indefinitely, Honda decided that these pieces were going to go to the Japanese driver of the satellite team, Takaaki Nakagami, clearly skipping the line of succession.
“In the last race Marc was testing a new chassis and swingarm, especially this last part has some improvement, more than the chassis, and Honda’s decision is to pass the parts on to Taka, who is also a factory rider” Pol Espargaró explained this Thursday in Montmeló.
“I’m going to continue fighting with the tools I have, just like I’ve done since the beginning of the season and that’s it, there’s no more,” he added.
As the professional that he is, Espargaró accepts Honda’s decision to skip, in some way, the ranks to deliver the piece to a pilot of the LCR satellite team, despite the fact that one would think that it does not make sense.
“It is not up to me to ask myself these questions, Honda has made a decision and I abide by it. I am a rider and I have to drive the bike as fast as I can and that is what I try to do every weekend. The decisions of who receives the material or who The evolution of the motorcycle depends exclusively on Honda and you will have to ask the question to the person in charge, it is not my job”, he said, apparently annoyed.
However, it is not a decision made by Honda that can make the rider happy.
“No, of course! I want the latest on my bike and as much new material as possible to improve the situation, especially when the situation is not going well. What you want is to have many new parts to turn it around, this is not da and we only have a new frame and swingarm and Taka is going to use them. It is what it is, I don’t say it in an angry tone or anything, it is a Honda decision, I abide by it and I will ride as fast as I can with the bike I have in the box”.
A maneuver that leads one to think that Honda has lost confidence in Pol .
“I don’t know, I don’t know why they made that decision. I still feel loved by Honda and I continue with all my commitment to the brand until the end of the year, and maybe with a renewal, but so far this is the situation and I accept it. Taka is a fast rider, also very valid to test this type of thing that is much more tied to the factory than I am, I understand that he has the opportunity to test new parts and I respect it”.
After the weekend’s grand prix, a basic official test is held on Monday for Honda to try to get out of the quagmire in which it is stuck with the 2022 bike, and in which new parts were expected for all the riders.
“I’m sorry but I can’t answer that because I don’t have the planning for Monday, I don’t know what parts I’m going to have or be able to test. We have a topic to try to cool the tire, a small detail of the lower keel wing, the spoon that we were not using and we will re-homologate it to see if we can help the rear tire, but it is a small detail that the four Hondas can use”.
A test that could be crucial to try to change the trend.
“If there is enough material, I can test it and evolve, when things go wrong the most important thing is to try new things. Honda has a very large muscle to bring things and be able to evolve the bike in the direction we want and in which everyone We agree, both Marc and the satellite pilots”, settled the Catalan.
