"Has to be goal" - Pol Espargaró Sets Ambitious Goals For 2023
Categories: MotoGP
In two years at Repsol Honda, he has not lived up to expectations. Back in the KTM structure, Pol Espargaró sets ambitious goals for 2023
With the season’s first test in Sepang barely over, Pol Espargaró can hardly wait to get back on his new MotoGP bike.
After two disappointing years with Repsol Honda, the Spaniard hopes to find happiness again at GasGas.
Having finished the three-day test, the former KTM factory rider already has the feeling that he can make a difference in the team. Back at Honda, he had often tried in vain to find technical solutions.
Similarly to Honda in 2022, the Sepang test ended positively for the Tech3 squad. Whereas the French team was massively lagging behind throughout the 2022 season, the customer KTM in GasGas clothing seems to be more competitive this year.
Nine Italian bikes in the Top 10 after Day 3 of the #SepangTest 🔥
— MGP1 (@mgp1official) February 12, 2023
Will Honda and Yamaha find a way to the top in 2023?#MotoGP | #MGP1 pic.twitter.com/hWswvwRTH5
However, the good pre-season test brings back memories of last season for Pol Espargaró: “Last year we had the best rhythm here – and look what a disaster year it turned into.”
Cautiously, the Spaniard insists on the irrelevance of the Sepang test: “After three days everyone is fast, after so many kilometers it’s relatively easy to get good lap times.”
“However, that’s misleading because, in the last few years, many riders who were able to show themselves in the first tests in Sepang were later not even in the top five.”
Ambitious goals for 2023
Evidently, Espargaró sees the Portimao test as much more important for his new team: “The Portimão test will be interesting for us once again because of its uphill and downhill passages.”
“The track is ideal for fine-tuning the seating position, suspension and other chassis details. In Portugal, where the first race will take place two weeks later, it also makes sense to do a long run.”
Therefore it is only in Portimao, that a definite expectation for the season can be set. Nevertheless, the feeling is good so far:
“Above all, we will be able to show what we are capable of on a fast lap. I am confident,” explains Espargaró.
“No one can predict what to expect this season because all the rivals are very strong. We have made the right steps in our development.”
“That’s why I say: We want to fight at the front, and achieve something big. Top-5! Without a doubt – that has to be our goal.”
