Pol Espargarò makes his debut riding a Honda in the first MotoGP 2021 test. And jokes about his brother Aleix’s best lap: “He can win all the tests he wants”.
Pol Espargaró finally got on his new Honda RC213V. On the first day of the MotoGP test in Losail, he sees his name in 17th place in the final draw, stopping the clock at 1’55 “878, 1’1″ behind his brother Aleix. The Granollers driver completed a total of 68 laps. “I’ve done more laps than anyone else. We have run out of tires because they are limited in number“. There is a great desire to understand a bike that by reputation is perhaps the most complex on the MotoGP grid, to test the first differences from the KTM RC16 which in 2020 gave him great satisfaction.
MAIN PROBLEM: THE FRONT
The focus is on the front end of the Honda, a cross and a delight for every rider of the brand. Difficult to squeeze, but once you understand the method it offers great benefits and emotions. “I preferred to arrive here without expectations to see what would happen – said Pol Espargarò at the end of the first test -. Very positive first day, but I still have a lot to improve, no doubt, especially with the front and with the new tire.” The Catalan has chosen the Japanese brand to shorten the times of his race for the MotoGP title. Now he finds himself dealing with a complex bike, but he is not afraid of the challenge. “It’s a complicated bike, no doubt, but which bike isn’t complicated in MotoGP? They are prototypes to which you have to adapt as quickly as possible and think that the others are very talented young drivers“.
ABOUT HIS BROTHER
Marc Marquez has shown that this Honda can really give a lot, his absence has highlighted its limits. But the HRC technicians have been working a lot. For about a year they tried to make it more “commercial” also to other brand colleagues. “It’s easier when you open the throttle and the front shows its limits only when the steering is closed and this takes a little longer. Unless you’re a kamikaze and go find the limit on the first day. This engine works very differently“. On the first day of MotoGP tests in Qatar the fastest is his brother Aleix Espargarò… “As long as he is at the bottom of the Grand Prix, he can win all the tests he wants“.