Pol Espargaro: "We were really unlucky"

Forced to retire with a clutch problem but with good positives from the weekend

It was always going to be a tough Americas GP for new team Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, visiting a new track and it being a difficult, 20-corner venue like COTA. But there were some big interesting developments and positives for the Austrian factory, with Pol Espargaro testing a new aero-fairing in practice and finding nothing negative to note.

The race saw Espargaro sadly unable to finish after a problem with the clutch appeared on Lap 2, but next up is Jerez – a circuit where the team have already tested – and a test at Le Mans as the data-gathering and constant progress continue on European soil.

Espargaro’s DNF in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas was also the first for the team in 2017, an impressive record for an all-new effort.

Pol Espargaro, DNF: “We started to feel this problem with the clutch in the second lap. I was not fast enough in the straights and in some corners the front was shaking quite a lot. Honestly the guys put in a big effort this weekend with the new fairing, and they didn’t get much sleep. We were really unlucky. I don’t know what we could have done, but maybe it would have been possible to take a point. We will have some new parts to test in Le Mans and after that we race in Jerez, where we have already been with the KTM. I feel something good is coming but we need to be patient.”