Why Honda poached Pol, and ditched Alex Marquez
Veteran Spanish journalist Manuel Pecino shares his unique insight to HRC’s swoop on Pol Espargaro
‘Honda want Pol as a solid second rider’ SITO PONS, MOTO2 TEAM MANAGER
News that Pol Espargaro will ride alongside Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda team in 2021 has brought a fascinating change of dynamic to the 2021 silly season. As MCN went to press no official announcement had been made by Honda, the timing of this all depends on when current employers KTM give Espargaro the green light to announce his move to the dominant Japanese manufacturer.
The move itself caught everyone by surprise, apparently including Marc Marquez himself. The arrival of the younger of the Espargaro brothers automatically means the exit of his own little brother Alex, himself a controversial signing by HRC at the end of last season. It means that without having raced a single GP as a MotoGP rider, Alex has been dismissed by the squad. It’s a confusing decision given that HRC justified his signing by stating that the newly crowned Moto2 champion was the best option, yet only a few months later that sentiment is no longer valid. And no justification has been forthcoming from the ranks of either HRC or Marquez.
It also raises the other big question: Why Pol?
The first factor to consider is the apparent similarity in the riding styles between Pol and Marc. Both men are renowned late and hard brakers; both men are aggressive and both men ride and work the front of the bike to the limit. But someone one who knows Espargaro well thinks there is an additional motive behind the move.
“It’s not because of his riding style that Honda will sign Pol”, explains Sito Pons, whose team took Espargaro to the Moto2 title in 2013. “Honda want Pol because they are looking for a solid second rider. Espargaro has a lot of experience, he has ridden bikes of different manufacturers and he has been basically working as a test rider for the last three years. He is a hard worker and very committed... and he is faster than he has shown.” Pons is probably right. Pol has been part of an intense development programme at KTM and has a wealth of experience with chassis, swing-arms, fairings, engines… Racing engineers evolve their bikes from rider feedback and then back up comments through in depth data analysis. Espargaro has been at the helm of KTM’s development and their progress is undisputable.
Honda are desperate to develop a bike capable of being ridden by riders other than Marquez. So far their attempts have failed due to Marquez’s ability to override and mask the RCV’s weaknesses. Until Honda explain themselves, it’s unknown if the decision to dismiss Alex was taken before his performance in the pre-season tests or after them having seen his difficult transition to the hard-to-ride RCV. But the ‘Why Pol?’ answer seems clear: the engineers want Espargaro to provide new and usable development information while having a second rider capable of covering Marc Marquez’s back. Something they missed last season with Jorge Lorenzo and, unless there is a big surprise, they will miss this season having rookie Alex Marquez in the garage.