After the good news that has come from the hand of Marc Márquez, the Repsol Honda Team is preparing to face the pre-season tests in Sepang, scheduled for February 5 and 6. During this test day, the pilots will be able to test their prototypes before the opening of the world championship on March 6 in Qatar.
Pol Espargaró will thus return to share the box with his teammate, who has had a difficult year and has not been able to be 100%, absent in some appointments of the season.
Although not having Márquez by his side forced Espargaró to drive without his teammate’s reference, the #44 believes he can boast of getting along better with the RC213V.
“Marc is someone who is used to dealing with poor grip,” says Espargaró. “He managed to adapt his style to these circumstances and, despite this, get the most out of the bike.”
“For me, on the other hand,” continues Espargaró, “it was incredibly difficult, especially at the beginning, to ride the bike in such a way that I could get the most out of it even with little grip.”
Now, with a year of experience on the RC213V, Espargaró confirms: “When it comes to opening the throttle when exiting the corners, I have to say that I still have a lot to learn. But I’ve worked hard on it and I’m still working”.
“I think the new bike will help all of us [Honda riders] to better control that aspect,” adds Espargaró. “We will be able and we will be able to move forward when it is time to do so.”
Alluding to the time his teammate from Cervera has been inactive, Espargaró hopes that they can share more tests than in 2021: “Hopefully he stays 100% this year and hopefully we can face the season together this time.”
The Repsol Honda Team is now ready to start the action on the track, but before that it has set a date for its presentation, scheduled for February 8th.
Confirmed presentations of the MotoGP teams for their 2022 bikes
| Date | Equipment | Place |
| 15 and black |  |
Faenza |
| January 24 |  |
Verona |
| 27 de enero |  |
Online |
| January 27th |  |
On-line |
| February 2 | |
Online |
| 4 february |  |
Malaysia |
| 7 February |  |
Online |
| 8 february |  |
On-line |
| 9 february |
 |
On-line |
| to be confirmed |  |
– |
| to be confirmed | |
– |
| to be confirmed | |
– |
