Pol Espargaró Will Not Be Testing Parts In Portimao - "Instead..."
Categories: MotoGP
Pol Espargaró reveals that he is not planning any development work for the Portimao- test. Instead, the Spaniard will focus on the upcoming Grand Prix.
When returning to the MotoGP bikes in Portimao, all riders will try to get the best possible feeling for the bike. The test at the Autodromo do Algarve will be the last chance for the teams to prepare their bikes for the season opener two weeks later.
While many manufacturers are already satisfied with their latest developments, the weaker teams use the last test to further develop important parts – after all, it is the last chance to make major changes to the bike.
The Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing team, who have been working closely with KTM on the development of the RC-16, see the Portimao meeting as a great opportunity to make their MotoGP rocket even more competitive.
Tech3 spearhead Pol Espargaró, however, prefers to use the last test before the start of the season differently.
The Spaniard does not want to do any further development work and praises the KTM test team around Dani Pedrosa.
“The bike has developed a lot. It is clearly faster. Both the engineers and Dani, Jonas and Mika as test riders have done a super job.”
“We won’t be testing too much in Portimão apart from some new fairing or aerodynamic parts. Portimão is not the place to try these things.”
The Spaniard prefers to focus on the set-up for the first Grand Prix of the year. He continues:
“Instead, it will be more about finding a good set-up for the bike. Once that’s in place, we’ll worry about being fast. And once we’ve done that, of course we can test some chassis components or swingarms.”
In any case, GasGas and KTM had already worked well at the Sepang test, notes the 31-year-old.
“At the test, this way of working worked great. The progress was so clear that all four riders found the same parts to be good.”
“It’s positive that despite different riding styles we all made roughly the same decisions.”
Coming Home
Espargaró came back to the KTM structure after two messed up seasons with Repsol Honda and is happy to be back ‘home’.
Already at the shakedown test in Valencia, a euphoric Espargaró had noticed how much the KTM suits his riding style.
“The DNA of the bike is the same as back then, but the bike has developed a lot.”
