Pol Espargaró completes his last MotoGP Grand Prix as a primary rider in Valencia—at least for now. As known, he will become a test rider for KTM in 2024, making way for Pedro Acosta at GasGas Tech3.

In the preview of the Valencia round, the Spanish rider emphasized his intention to make the most of these final moments in the paddock, aiming to build good memories as he bids farewell:

– I am looking forward to going to Valencia. This is a place where I have very good memories, and I know that I will have family, friends and fans who will come to support both the team and myself. All I want is to enjoy this last round as it is set to be the last one of my active career, so I really want to take it all in, have fun with my team, and make this one memorable.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaró closes a chapter of his career in Valencia: ‘I want to make this GP memorable’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Pol Espargaró finished the Qatar MotoGP GP in a modest 18th place. The veteran from GasGas Tech3 didn’t have the means to fight for a better result in Losail, marking one of his last rounds before retiring from the circuit.

Speaking to the press, the Spaniard said he faced significant challenges throughout the race, and his performance wasn’t at its best, as he now shifts his focus to the Valencia GP:

– I’m normally struggling with this bike with the front. I struggle to make the bike turn and it was a very difficult race. For sure my performance wasn’t good anyway together with the problems I had on the bike. I struggled a lot during all the race. Nothing to say, let’s move to Valencia and let’s have fun on the last one of the year.

O conteúdo ‘I struggle to make the bike turn and my performance wasn’t good’ – Pol Espargaró aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Following the first free practice session of the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi and Pol Espargaró had an on-track encounter where there was a disagreement, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Later, during practice starts, Bezzecchi made contact with the rear of Espargaró’s GasGas Tech3 bike using his own bike.

Despite the situation, Espargaró emphasized that there is no controversy with Bezzecchi, stating to the press: ‘I won’t comment on any of that. If you ask me several times, I’ll respond the same. It’s about maturing and biting your tongue. So, I won’t create controversy. Nothing happened between us. Everything is fine’.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaró denies a controversy with Marco Bezzecchi: ‘Nothing happened’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Aki Ajo has no doubts about Pedro Acosta’s worth and believes that the current Moto2 champion won’t falter upon entering the premier class in 2024.

The head of Red Bull KTM Ajo told Marca: ‘I believe that in the higher category, it will be the same because, fundamentally, it’s about riding motorcycles. But surely, he will need time, we cannot expect too much at the beginning, but I am sure about Acosta’s objectives, and they are the same as he had when he was in the Moto3 and Moto2 World Championships’.

After three years of working with Acosta, Ajo is convinced of the rider’s potential to succeed in MotoGP: ‘He has a tremendous opportunity to have a great, great career in the MotoGP World Championship. He also realized that he has to learn in this new category, give himself time. In Moto2, in his first year, maybe initially, he didn’t give himself enough time and made mistakes because perhaps the expectations were too high, but they were good for us; we learned a lot from that. When you use those moments, they make you stronger. Acosta is more than prepared’.

O conteúdo ‘Pedro Acosta has a tremendous opportunity to have a great career in MotoGP’ – Aki Ajo aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The first free practice session of the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix nearly ended in a mishap for Marco Bezzecchi and Pol Espargaró, who had a dispute on the track and narrowly avoided a collision.

The first incident occurred in a corner, where Espargaró (GasGas Tech3/KTM) was running slower, and Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) caught up with him on the trajectory. A collision was narrowly avoided.

Unhappy with the situation, later during the start practices, the Italian made more than one contact with the rear wheel of Espargaró. An action that could very well lead to scrutiny and penalties from the race stewards. Watch the moment below.

O conteúdo Video: Marco Bezzecchi touched Pol Espargaró’s bike after a disagreement on the track aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

As known, the Losail circuit underwent significant intervention in the last year, and although the layout remains the same, there’s new asphalt and new buildings around it. Therefore, there might be some differences compared to previous years.

Pol Espargaró, from GasGas Tech3, admitted he doesn’t like that much of the changes: ‘I kind of dislike the situation, because this is a place where I used to be fast and the bike also used to be fast here, we’ve seen in the past. So, if you mix everything, to have these question marks around, this isn’t very good at all. We need to wait a little bit to see what’s going on’.

Asked if the night conditions in Losail could be physically better for him, the Spaniard replied: ‘I don’t really know. I hope that with less hot and humidity the conditions are gonna be better for all of us. Coming from Malaysia for sure everyone will be much better physically talking than in the past races. So, we’ll see’.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaró isn’t a «fan» of the changes at Losail circuit: ‘I dislike the situation’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After a challenging 2023 season due to injuries suffered at the MotoGP Portugal GP, Pol Espargaró lost his spot at GasGas Tech3 to Pedro Acosta, becoming a test rider for the next year with various wildcard appearances. Despite the possibility of returning to Repsol Honda, he stuck with his initial decision.

Espargaró explained his reasons to the official MotoGP website, stating: ‘I felt that I had to take this step in my career. Take a step to the side, not backward. And try to help the factory and a rider like Pedro. The future needs to continue building in this factory. And in this case, Pedro is the one who is taking my place’.

He acknowledged a debt of gratitude to KTM, saying: ‘I am the rider I am today thanks to them. We’ve helped each other. But I think I learned a lot there, and I have a lot to give back to them. And if I stay here, it’s because I really feel and believe that this is the best manufacturer in the championship’.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaó loyal to KTM: ‘I’m the rider I am today thanks to them’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Pol Espargaró finished 15th in the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix, having to endure a challenging race to secure a podium. The conditions at Sepang and a less than favorable first lap significantly complicated the task for the GasGas Tech3 rider.

The Spaniard admitted that he was physically exhausted, still feeling the effects of injuries sustained in Portugal last March: ‘Wow, racing with this humidity and hot, with these bikes… maybe I’m feeling more this because I’m struggling more, because I have a quite a lot of weaknesses in my body that I still didn’t recover from the crash. Normally I don’t feel them, but I feel them especially when the conditions are this intense and to the limit. So I feel that my body is not OK, so maybe I struggle a little bit more than the others. […]. It is what it is, the race was very, very hard’.

On the other hand, Espargaró stated that having to recover from the loss of positions right from the start was another challenge: ‘I also had a problem at the beginning of the race. I had a big contact with Joan Mir in the last corner and I’ve lost all the positions – I was overtaken even by [Álvaro] Bautista, and I needed to come back. I overtook the RNF MotoGP, [Takaaki] Nakagami, Bautista. Then I lost quite a lot of time. I reached my teammate, I arrived to his wheel, but it was quite late on the race, I had a very used tyre. Plus, this problem we have on the front that the pressure comes very much up and then it’s very difficult to overtake. So I just stayed there until the end of the race’.

O conteúdo ‘I feel that my body is not OK, so maybe I struggle more than the others’ – Pol Espargaró aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Pol Espargaró was approached by Repsol Honda to return for the 2024 season, replacing Marc Márquez. The rider had already committed to KTM as a test rider for the next year and decided to stay with the Austrian project, despite the tempting possibility of remaining in the racing grid.

The experienced Spaniard began by defending Honda in the delicate situation it faces in defining Márquez’s successor: ‘I have a very good relationship with Alberto [Puig, team manager] from the past. I think he his a good guy and it’s doing his job well. For sure Honda is in a very difficult situation because Marc… all the riders with more possibilities have contract until the next year, so the situation is a little bit critical for them. It’s not Honda’s blame’.

Regarding the possibility of returning to Honda, Espargaró confirmed that it was discussed with Puig but ultimately chose to stay with KTM: ‘I had a chat with Alberto to see how was the situation, but then I had a chat also with Pierer Mobility Group guys, my bosses – Pit [Beirer], Hubert [Trunkenpolz], Stefan [Pierer] – and we realise for both parties it was better to stay, to keep this project, working with this project until we see this project being world champion. Next year I finish my contract, so I will be free and if something comes for sure we’ll need to discuss again with KTM and Pierer Mobility. But at the moment I’m pleased where I am’.

That said, the #44 also thanks Honda for the interest in his services: ‘I’m really grateful to Honda because to leave from one place and then get a call to get back means that the job done wasn’t too bad. And the relationship with them has always been very good even if the results were tough. I’m very pleased with that, this means a lot for me, but my future is different’.

O conteúdo Pol Espargaró rejected the chance to return to Honda: ‘It was better to stay in this project’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

KTM has already announced Pedro Acosta as a rider for GasGas Tech3 in MotoGP in 2024, but rumors continue to circulate about his possible promotion to the premier class with the Red Bull KTM team.

According to SPEEDWEEK.com, the possibility of the Spanish rider moving directly to the factory team may not be entirely ruled out. If this were to happen, Jack Miller would move to GasGas Tech3. Given Acosta’s strong results in Moto2, the German publication questions: ‘Will the Pierer Group stick to the plan and continue with [Brad] Binder and Miller at Red Bull KTM? Or could Pedro Acosta be transferred to the KTM Factory Team instead of Miller?’.

Pit Beirer, KTM’s Motorsports Director, appears to deny this possibility, stating: ‘Miller is planned for KTM, and Acosta for GasGas’.

Despite these statements, it wouldn’t be the first time KTM promoted a rider directly from Moto2 to their factory team, as was the case with Brad Binder in 2020. The Austrian team is well aware of Acosta’s talent and potential, so much so that the Director, Hubert Trunkenpolz, referred to him as the ‘new Marc Márquez’ this summer.

For now, any scenario that puts Acosta in Red Bull KTM and Miller in GasGas Tech3 in 2024 remains pure speculation. However, given that the Australian rider has struggled to meet expectations in his first season, and Acosta is seen as a precious talent for the future, such a swap would not be entirely out of the question, despite the official announcements already made.

O conteúdo Could Pedro Acosta join Red Bull KTM in place of Jack Miller as early as 2024? aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.