---
title: "Espargaro hails ‘promising start’ in Valencia"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/11/11/espargaro-hails-promising-start-valencia/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2016-11-11T20:43:14Z"
modified: "2016-11-11T20:43:34Z"
---

# Espargaro hails ‘promising start’ in Valencia

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro enjoyed one of his best days on a MotoGP bike for some time after he ended the first day of practice at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit fourth fastest.

The Spaniard enters his final race this weekend with Tech 3 and Yamaha before moving to the factory KTM squad to spearhead their debut as a full works effort in 2017. Keen to repay the team and the Japanese manufacturer with a decent result, the weekend got off to a flier for Espargaro.

In this morning’s FP1, Espargaro put his 2015-spec YZR-M1 fifth on the time sheets, just seven tenths of a second adrift of session leader Jorge Lorenzo on the full factory Yamaha. Espargaro proved that his pas was no fluke in the afternoon, improving his lap times by a second and moving up a spot to fourth.

The Spaniard managed a 1m31.000s late in the second session, placing him just six tenths off the pace and only three tenths outside of the best times set by Honda’s Marc Marquez and Suzuki’s Maverick Vinales.

Michelin have brought rear tyres with them this weekend that have a different construction, similar to that used earlier in the season. The older carcases have allowed Espargaro to feel more comfortable on his bike and has left him feeling happier on his bike than he has done for some time, which in turn has also filled him with confidence heading into tomorrow.

“Today was a very promising start to the weekend and I’m happy as well as satisfied,” said Espargaro. “It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed riding my Yamaha this much, so it’s a shame that we had to wait until the last race to do so.

“With regards to the tyres, Michelin went back to the old carcass that they used at the beginning of the season and these tyres have a lot of rear grip. At this track, we can use it with a different compound and the truth is that we have improved our grip level a lot and the whole bike is working really well.

“Moreover, this circuit suits my riding style and Yamaha has always been strong here. Therefore it has been a very good first day with many positives and now we will continues our progression tomorrow in order to produce a great showing in qualifying for what will be my last race with Tech 3.”