A great ride in tricky conditions saw Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) match his best ever result in the premier class with fourth in Assen. He was in podium contention for most of the race, just losing out in the final laps of the race. It has been an incredible season and the Spaniard is aiming to carry his pace to Germany, a track where he has finished in the top ten since 2012. Espargaro is one of only a handful of riders to score points in every race and he’s only once finished outside the top ten. This consistency has him leading the Independent Team standings by 14 points, Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) unable to match his results.
While many of his rivals were relaxing in the time between Assen and Germany, Espargaro flew to Japan to test the Yamaha R1 before the Suzuka 8 Hour. Espargaro and the factory Yamaha team are the defending champions of the prestigious event and have a target on their backs in 2016. After the German round Espargaro will return to Japan to contest the event and hopefully return once again with the winners trophy.
Pol Espargaro: “As usual, I am looking forward to racing this weekend and I am positive about the team and I doing a good job in Germany. The track is certainly unique and when I ride, it feels a little bit like karting on a MotoGP bike! It is really tight and twisty, plus as there is no long straight, we don’t get much of a rest so it’s very physically demanding. Having said that, we are upbeat because the nature of the Sachsenring suits the Yamaha so I think we can push for a strong showing again. However, I believe that we may see some unexpected results but I’ll try hard to be one of those who have a notable performance. We are ready and prepared so I am sure that we can tick off part one of the season in a positive fashion before I fly to Japan to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours race for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team.”