Michael Scott
‘It’s time for the Valentino Rossi fans to let it go’
Pol Espargaro is intent on sticking with his ‘on the limit’ riding style as he targets a top 10 MotoGP world championship finish after a dazzling performance on his KTM in Misano. Espargaro converted a confidence-boosting front row start, a first in the dry for the RC 16, into an impressive seventh place in the race with an inspired performance. Now eleventh in the overall championship standings, Espargaro is also just 11 points adrift of ninthplaced Honda rival Cal Crutchlow who failed to pick up any points at Misano after crashing out. “To be fighting for ninth in the championship is amazing,” the Spaniard told MCN afterwards. “But it’s going to be a long, hard battle because I’m just three points from Morbidelli (in tenth – Ed) and 11 from Crutchlow (ninth) so P7 is a very nice result in Misano.
He continued: “I’m riding quite on the limit but this is what this game is about, you need to be on the limit but knowing you cannot do mistakes. It is easy to make mistakes when racing so many good riders but you still need to be on the limit every lap. But the important thing overall is to finish races.” Espargaro is now urging KTM to bolster acceleration and traction after the boost from recent updates developed by test rider Dani Pedrosa. Misano showed the RC 16’s strong points of top speed and braking but it also lost crucial time on corner exits to sixth place Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati). “We need more traction, more electronic knowledge, Dovi was super-strong on acceleration. Where we have come from with this bike is unbelievable. Finishing top seven and starting from second on the grid, we can be very proud.”
‘Where we have come from with this bike is unbelievable’