Pol Espargaro was shocked to see how Marc Marquez was capable of tame an more and more tough Honda MotoGP bike throughout their time as team-mates in 2021-22.
Having performed a serious function in constructing KTM’s MotoGP operation from scratch, Espargaro bought the chance to race for the manufacturing facility HRC crew in 2021 alongside six-time champion Marquez.
At the moment, Marquez was nonetheless not absolutely match after breaking his arm in a crash at Jerez in 2020. Furthermore, the RC213V was rapidly sliding out of competitiveness, having been leapfrogged by extra aero and electronics-reliant equipment from European producers.
That meant Espargaro might solely muster two podiums in as many seasons as Honda, ending twelfth within the championship in 2021 earlier than dropping to sixteenth place the next 12 months.
Though Marquez was additionally unable to duplicate his peak kind from the 2010s, he was capable of fare much better on the identical bike, successful three races in 2021 and outperforming all his Honda compatriots in ‘22 regardless of lacking a number of races.
Espargaro mentioned the contrasting fortunes between him and Marquez reminded him of the 2019 season with KTM, when he was capable of extract the utmost out of the RC16 whereas new team-mate Johann Zarco struggled a lot that he was ousted from the crew after simply 13 races.
“By some means I found that he was doing issues that I used to be doing at KTM, when individuals like Johann Zarco have been coming to the crew,” he defined on MotoGP’s official podcast.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Crew, Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Crew
Picture by: Dorna
“He was saying feedback that I couldn’t perceive, just like the bike just isn’t good in that space and it’s actually dangerous. And I used to be saying that that space is a robust level of the bike, so I can carry out very well in that space.
“However then I used to be going to Honda and I used to be Johann in that second. I used to be saying the bike is actually dangerous in that space and truly [it] was a robust level of Marc.
“And I found {that a} rider [like Marquez] is ready to adapt to the issues of the bike and make the issues a bonus.
“The issue [for me] was that when one other man, an outsider, goes on that bike, that issues are so large. However for the rider that’s there [already], they’re large good points. It’s very bizarre.”
By 2020, Espargaro was a daily podium contender at KTM and had completed the season a career-best fifth within the standings.
Whereas there was an apparent lure to becoming a member of Honda, essentially the most profitable marque in MotoGP historical past, the Spaniard mentioned he was additionally motivated by the will to evaluate his pace in opposition to Marquez in the identical storage.
“ I had been preventing in opposition to Marquez [previously],” he mentioned. “It occurred throughout all my profession, in 125cc, in Moto2.
“To go to Honda it was not simply [about going] to Honda, it was additionally going as Marc’s team-mate, to see what the hell he’s doing to be so quick and so fast. To show myself.
“Okay, I do know I can develop a motorcycle, I did it, we did it. But it surely’s now time for me, for my ego, ‘let’s see what I can do on a motorcycle that one man is successful [on]’.
“And truly Honda, it’s a historic machine that has been on the rostrum many, many instances, with victories and wonderful riders. To put on that color is an honour.
“But it surely was vital for me to remain on the sight of Marc Marquez to know what the hell he was doing.”
On this article
Rachit Thukral
MotoGP
Marc Marquez
Pol Espargaro
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