After a first year of adapting to the demands of the RC213V, Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) is looking forward to the new 2022 MotoGP™ World Championship season with a renewed enthusiasm. Immersed in what is "a tough start for all the riders", he spoke to motogp.com from Sepang, where he took part in the first Official Test of the year, which ended on a high note thanks to a top 10 finish and the firm steps the golden wing brand is taking with the new bike. Despite the sweltering heat in Malaysia, the riders are made of different stuff: "It's very difficult here, but in Thailand, we'll have adapted one hundred per cent".
After a winter break that "always takes a long time" during which he wasted no time riding flat track, motocross and a range of other disciplines, Espargaro is happy to be back in the paddock and experiencing the unique sensations of MotoGP™ racing. 2022 looks set to be a different year for him as he’s now acclimatised to the bike and the Honda environment, who have made efforts to improve the performance of his machine. The step forward in terms of engine or rear grip was already palpable at the Jerez Test, although the younger Espargaro brother is satisfied, his optimism was cautious. The progress made had to be confirmed.
Expectations for the new RC213V
"It's true that the bike is different. That, at the circuits we have ridden, has given us positive feedback," he admitted on the eve of the recent Test, aware of the need to ride at other circuits and accumulate more track time so that "the conclusions are clear, not hasty.”
“We don't know for sure where the others have improved, where they are going to be faster, because here everyone is improving," he said. That's why some caution "is good to keep a little bit of reality", though if Honda can back up their Sepang efforts with another good outing in Mandalika, expectations could change ahead of the season opener in Qatar.
Much is being said about the new RC213V, but if one area could prove key to Espargaro’s aspirations, it's the rear grip of his machine: "For me the rear grip is essential, without a doubt. Marc [Marquez] has the ability or has adapted in these ten years with the Honda to be able to work with less grip, he likes it and feels comfortable, but I find it very difficult and so do the other riders, so Honda has worked with Marc's absence a little bit more on that aspect and they have improved the bike a lot. We have much more contact, not just grip, but general contact on the rear wheel, either entering or exiting the corners, and that, in the end, I don't know if it will give us a lot of speed, but it will give us a lot of safety, which is also very important. Being more confident also gives you more confidence to go faster, to brake later, to dive into the corners with more speed. So, it's important to be fast, but being safe on the bike is crucial.”
Puig's message
As the 2021 campaign progressed, Honda were able to savour the progress of Pol, who had two highlights with a pole position at Silverstone and a brilliant second place at the Emilia-Romagna GP, a career-best result. The coup at the British GP, which he backed up with a top 5 finish, was preceded by a motivational pep-talk from his Team Manager, Alberto Puig.
What's the message for 2022? "I'm in constant contact with Alberto. We always talk, either by phone or in person, and that obviously helps me to have more direct contact with the factory. Also, Alberto is a very direct and very real person, he doesn't speculate on anything and what he tells you, he tells you when he is sure of it. He is very cautious and tells you few things, but the things he says are true, direct and clear and that helps me a lot, he gives me a lot of confidence and security".
"We have spoken many times this year before the start of the season, even before the pre-season, and the message is clear: we have to keep pushing, we have to be at the top, where these colours deserve to be, and there is no other way but to be in the top five or three,” adds Pol, who, like most of the grid, is facing into a key year contractually, with many seats at stake. His current contract with Honda runs out at the end of 2022. It’s a crucial season, one that’s "important to close the contracts", although the Granollers man reminds us that the riders in the premier class are always under the spotlight.
Consistency and ambition
"It is obvious that this year is important for me because last year was a year of experience with a bike that was not at its best level. This year is very different, the bike is very different. We start with Marc also in the pre-season, which will help us to develop the bike. I'm starting with a lot more experience, I know the bike and the team a lot better," he said, before emphasising his ambition to go further this year: "This year is very different, I know what I'm going to find and I'm in a position to get the results I think I can get, the ones I was fighting for at the end of the year.”
Future with Honda
If he achieves his goals, the number 44 is confident of extending his project with Honda, where he feels at home following a four-year stint with KTM: "Honda makes me feel comfortable, they give me the confidence I need to be able to continue together beyond these two years of contract and I firmly believe that we make a good tandem, so my intention and I think also Honda's right now is to continue together in the future, but it is clear that this has to go hand in hand with some results that we have to achieve this year, on my part and on Honda's. At the moment, there are no doubts: we are in a very good position, we are in a very good position to achieve the results we need to achieve this year. At the moment, there is no doubt: we are united on this path.”
"I knew it would be a hard road at the beginning, as it has been, but, without a doubt, both parties are willing to give the maximum at the beginning of the season and in the middle of the season to be able to close another contract and that's what I want and what the factory wants, so, until they say otherwise, we will continue in this line."
In the short term, Espargaro hopes to benefit from the return of Marquez: "For me and for all of Honda it is very important that Marc is here. Firstly, because he is a rider who this year will have been with the bike for ten years. Ten years with a bike allows you to have a brutal knowledge of the whole process it has undergone. In terms of improving it, understanding the engineers and knowing how to deal with the issue of developing a bike, I think there is no one better than him at Honda right now. In terms of experience, Marc is crucial. And then, obviously, with the speed he has and how fast he is, he takes the factory to another level."
The Márquez factor
"It's not the same when you are riding and you see that a rider of your own brand is capable of doing things that you thought you couldn't do, that makes you improve a lot, in terms of results, but also in terms of riding", says Pol, who is very positive about the level of his team-mate: "For me it's important that Marc is there. It's always positive, not negative. I don't look at it from a results point of view but more from the point of view of improving my riding, the fact that Marc is there helps me to be much more involved, that I have to put in a lot more effort and that makes me a better rider. So, for me the return of Marc is a positive thing, for the factory too and we will see if we can use all this to be faster in the pre-season and start the season much more mature with this new bike than we would start without him."
A clear favourite
The new reign of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and the huge progress of the Ducatis with 'Pecco' Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) leading the way could open up a wide range of title contenders, but Espargaro is clear that the number 93 carries the favourite’s tag.
"I have no doubt that Marc is the favourite to win the World Championship, above any other rider. He is physically well, he has the speed he had before the injury and I have no doubt that Marc is the rival to beat for everyone, not just for me, and anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth. He is the rider to beat for all the years he has been here fighting in different conditions. Even last year physically at 70-80-90% he was able to win races. I'm lucky to have him by my side and to see what Marc is able to do, who will probably be fighting every race of the season, is going to help me to try to copy what he does and try to be at his level."
Pol's biggest wish for 2022
After talking about the new bike, the future, his team-mate and other aspects, motogp.com wanted to find out what Pol's biggest wish for the new year would be. Once again, his roadmap remains unchanged. His desire for glory and success remains intact.
"I start with the same goal since I started in MotoGP™. If it then goes wrong because of different things... we'll try not to. My goal is to be World Champion, to win as many races as possible, to be on the podium as many times as possible and to be useful for the factory. In the end, we always aim to win, to be the best and to be at the top, but sometimes you can be more useful to the factory in other ways. Obviously, I want to be World Champion, to be on the podium, to make this Honda shine, but I also want to be useful to the factory and make them feel that I am part of this team and that they have made a good signing. I think that would be great at the end of the year."