Pol Espargaro "embarrassed" to finish so low in Styria MotoGP race
Honda’s Pol Espargaro says it was “embarrassing” to finish so far back in the MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix having fought for victory at the track last year on the KTM.
Espargaro qualified on pole and narrowly missed the win in last year’s edition of the Styrian GP when he was a KTM rider, while in 2021 on the Honda he was only 16th and 31.150s off victory.
The Honda rider says his race was compromised by a “desperate” strategy to unsuccessfully get out of Q1 in qualifying by fitting a fresh medium rear tyre, which left him without a back-up in case of a red flag on Sunday.
A fiery crash involving Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo Savadori led to the race being halted on lap three, meaning Espargaro couldn’t fit a fresh medium tyre for the restart.
“Well, first of all plan the strategy in a different way because we were desperate,” he said when asked how he can get better results on the Honda.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I was desperate in the Q1 and I put the medium tyre on, which means we ran out of back-up tyres in case of red flag.
“So, when the red flag happened I didn’t have the back-up tyre like all the rest of the grid did.
“So, I started with five laps tyre on the rear, most of the guys complained about the grip in the second race.
“You can imagine with five laps on the tyre already, it was a disaster completely.
“From the first to the last lap, just managing to finish the race because it was kind of embarrassing also to be so far back on the grid knowing this track suits me really good.
“I ride fast here, I almost got the victory last year with a pole position. It was kind of embarrassing.”
Espargaro says the main issue for him on the Honda continues to be a lack of rear grip, noting that he is now unable to ride using the rear brake like he normally would and this is like forcing him to “write with the left hand”.
“The rear grip is the problem of the bike,” he explained.
“It’s been like that since Qatar and if you change nothing on the bike, then it’s going to keep being the same problem.
“I remember in the past on other bikes I was using hugely the rear brake to help me to turn the bike and stop the bike in the mid-corner, avoiding to stress the front brake.
“And the problem is if you don’t have rear grip you cannot use the rear brake.
“So, I’m just putting harder springs on the rear brake to avoid using it and for me if you take away the rear brake it’s like writing with the left hand.
“We are missing grip, this is all. If we get grip on the rear as the others, we will qualify better, we will turn faster, we will accelerate better with more grip, we will not struggle as much on the front.
“So, everything is painful, the rear grip is the key of this new era of MotoGP and if you don’t have it you are dead.”
Marc Marquez is back
MotoGP Starting Grid: Portugal Grand Prix
MotoGP Starting Grid: Doha Grand Prix
Marc Márquez's first ride after his injury
Marc Marquez continues his recovery
The irony and vindication behind a rookie’s maiden MotoGP victory
Determined not to let his first season in MotoGP be defined by injury, Jorge Martin set his sights on a strong return from the summer break at the Red Bull Ring and delivered in fine fashion. But it could all have been different for the Pramac rider had he not landed on a bike that he feels ideally suited to, a situation only too easy to envisage
Why Rossi hasn’t overstayed his welcome in MotoGP
OPINION: After 22 years in the top flight of grand prix motorbike racing, Valentino Rossi has announced his MotoGP retirement. Having been the championship's main draw for the past two decades, Rossi's declining performances and the birth of his new VR46 team means he hangs up his leathers at the right time
Why Suzuki desperately needs to find Brivio's MotoGP replacement
OPINION: While Shinichi Sahara insists that Suzuki does not need a team manager following the departure of Davide Brivio, the team's performance in the early part of the 2021 MotoGP season and the sentiment of the staff suggests the opposite
How KTM has ended up with an embarrassment of MotoGP riches
Forming a ladder all the way from Red Bull Rookies Cup to MotoGP, KTM has created a steady stream of top talents in grand prix racing delivering the Austrian marque with the success expected of the brand. Here's how it has gone about it
Why MotoGP will miss its gentle giant
Danilo Petrucci’s days in MotoGP appear numbered, as KTM looks to completely reshuffle the Tech3 team for 2022. Though the Italian's 2021 season so far hasn’t been standout, the giant Italian covertly became a top runner in MotoGP across the last decade and brought with him a personality that world sport sorely needs more of
Why Mir's MotoGP title defence can’t be written off yet
Joan Mir’s defence of his MotoGP title has had an underwhelming start as Suzuki didn’t progress its championship-winning GSX-RR as much as its rivals did with their bikes over the winter. Speaking to Autosport, Mir lays out why his title defence has been stalled so far and why he’s confident title number two is still within reach
The Rossi replacement who’s become the MotoGP leader Yamaha needed
It's been six years since Jorge Lorenzo gave Yamaha its last MotoGP title in 2015. Since his departure at the end of 2016, Yamaha's form has been inconsistent but it has at last found a new talisman to return it to the top spot in the form of a precociously talented Frenchman who currently leads the standings
Why the Vinales/Yamaha MotoGP divorce satisfies both parties
On Monday Yamaha announced it will part ways with Maverick Vinales at the end of the 2021 season - a move requested by the rider. As the already strained relationship between both parties in MotoGP hit rock bottom in recent weeks, this divorce - as ORIOL PUIGDEMONT writes - is good for both Yamaha and Vinales for a number of reasons
