Pol Espargaró returns to action this weekend in MotoGP, with a wildcard entry in the Italian Grand Prix. After retiring full-time, he became a test rider for Red Bull KTM, and it is in that capacity that he is at this round.
The Spaniard acknowledged that Mugello is not the easiest circuit to make a comeback, but it was necessary: ‘Now it’s strange to be here and not on the other side. It’s been over six months without competing and I was really looking forward to this moment. Well, maybe Mugello is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar to come back to, but since the team is testing different things we needed to. This track is special and we need to test some things on the bike, which is fine. I’m ready, I’m happy to help the team as always. Let’s see if we can give the guys something extra in a place that is usually full of Italian tifosi cheering for the Italian manufacturers. Let’s see if we can help them to be a bit better at the front‘.
About what he will test on the bike, Espargaró stated: ‘I don’t think they will find something very different from what Dani [Pedrosa] tested in Jerez. We are testing different things, approaching things differently, on different tracks, to understand if they are good or not – not just in aerodynamics, in all aspects of the bike. Unfortunately, we are facing a very difficult year in terms of racing. All manufacturers are quite competitive and we are trying to perform the same or even better than them, which allows us to work in various different places for what we need to improve. This is a place where you need to experiment, for example, with aerodynamics, you need to test the electronics, because of the long corners. Chassis, engine on the long and fast straight. So, there are several places where you can test the bike and we are going to do it‘.
Regarding his approach, the KTM rider mentioned: ‘It’s going to rain, I think it’s going to be very complicated. We need to approach everything very calmly. I didn’t ride here last year because I was injured. I haven’t been on the bike since the Jerez test and we arrive while the others have been competing for a few days, and in this place it’s not easy at all. If you put it all together, if I want to go full throttle from the first day on Friday, it can end quickly and badly. So, I just take everything calmly, just control the bike and try to work on the bike because the other riders will take our bikes on Monday for tests as well to understand what we have been testing. It is important to make this competition weekend as a test for the factory riders to be ready on Monday with our bikes‘.
Regarding his mission in this wildcard, Espargaró clarified: ‘Testing the bike at this location is very important, and then also trying to be productive for them for the second test so they don’t waste time because it’s only a one-day test and it’s in the middle of the year. So, they will be very busy‘.
