January 4, 2021 Pol Espargaro Unexpectedly, I came across Honda in the color of Repsol in my yard that season. His new team gave him a welcoming surprise. He excitedly confessed that this opportunity was a realization of his dream. Sixteen months later, there are few illusions of a child on Three Kings Day. The dream gradually turned into a nightmare.

last weekend, Pol Espargaro He arrived in Assen, attended the Dutch Grand Prix and dragged on the consequences of a major crash a few days ago at the Sakusen ring circuit. “From experience, this weekend will be more painful than in Germany. I know what this will be,” Pol told us when we sat down to talk to him. After the attempt, the pain and breathing problems caused him to withdraw from the GP, so the event will prove he is right.

Espargaro crashed 20 times last year in his efforts to fulfill his expectations with Honda. There are 10 people this year.

Even though he knew he had left Honda at the end of the season, he continues to give everything.

Those proofs are those waterfalls you mention. No one wants to fall. And it’s time to crash when trying to see if the rider is looking for the limits of his bike. I tried 100%, just like the rocket-like preseason. It is true that it will gradually decrease, but we will continue to do our best. However, the problem occurs every two or three times. It can crash or it can be a mechanical problem. This makes our weekend very complicated.

When it comes to managing crashes, riders divide them into those that occur looking for limits and those that occur after making a mistake. This is not surprising, but “and what happened here? Did you list yours?

In qualifying at Portimao and Jerez, the crash was looking for limits, but everything else was a crash I didn’t expect. And they are the most painful. When you’re looking for limits, you know you’re at the end of the knife, but those falls I had at the last GP in the first corner Sakusen ring will be slower. ..

The statistics for his case this season are almost incomprehensible. After a good preseason, he finished third in his first GP in Qatar. Next, with 9 GGPPs, the best result was 9th.

Yes, it’s frustrating. Sure, I was fourth in Argentina before the crash, but I had to retire because of the crash, mechanical problems and injuries. Obviously, I’m partially responsible. Because when a bike goes bad, your duty is to be the fastest rider on that bike. And in this sense, Mark was faster than me in some races, so my result should have been better.

“The bike at the start of the season and the current bike have nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with riding or technical.”

How is that bike different from the beginning of the year when it was so fast on the bikes from now on? And best of all, if it worked, why did it change?

The beginning of the season bike and the current bike have nothing to do with it. Pilot’s method and technically. Throughout the preseason, I didn’t fall! There are as many crashes as I do, and even late. If something isn’t working, it’s a very clear sign that something isn’t working. And modifying a bike is not that easy. The bike has many components that do not depend on us. For example, tires.

Tires, pointer topics.

It does not depend on us and we do not have any kind of knowledge. This is not a criticism, I don’t want it to be interpreted that way, it’s just a fact. This is one of the components of a motorcycle that we do not control and may change its characteristics 100%.And it doesn’t convict them [Michelin] But for us, like other factories, we couldn’t adapt to what’s there. They are all the same.

As an HRC reference rider in the absence of Marc Marquez, what is the truth that his evaluation and adaptation during the 2022 Honda development was wrong?

Mark was in the pre-season. I remember having a lot of conversations during the preseason, not only with him, but also with Nakagami and Alex Marquez. For example, both were fast in pre-season testing. The bike was great! Yes, certainly Mark felt the front end hurt him a bit, but he said we would be very successful with this bike. That was the reality we lived in at the time. So we were shocked when things started badly, but not me, but four of us.

“The bike was working very well! It’s true that Mark felt that the front end hurt him a bit, but he said we would be very good with this bike. So we I was shocked when things started badly, but we all four. “

The five-week summer vacation at the World Cup is not like a vacation at HRC’s Japan headquarters.

I think the break will be of great help to Honda’s reaction. From my point of view, the biggest of all the problems we have is our reaction speed. We are very slow. I have a problem and I found them, but I can’t get new parts or test new parts. Most of what we try is what we have saved and we will try again to see if the flute sounds. Since Qatar we have tried another chassis that is very similar to what we had, and the same applies to the swingarm. that’s all. In today’s difficult situation, where you’re lagging behind the system that lowers the bike when accelerating, aerodynamic development has no grip. And we haven’t tested anything that can help improve this. I hope summer will help us in this regard.

I don’t think it’s the way at the level of competition like MotoGP. And for the record, it’s not because of desire or lack of effort, but conversely, it’s a matter of reaction time.

What happens then?

In Japanese culture, I think the means of making mistakes overcondition them. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake!

Safety is a priority for them and we don’t want to test anything that could jeopardize the safety of our pilots. I think it’s great and I’m very grateful as a driver, but if it doesn’t work, you may be at higher risk of wrapping with a material that doesn’t work than trying something new.