Pol Espargaro cut a massively ecstatic figure in the MotoGP paddock following today’s qualifying session, after the Spaniard put his factory KTM RC16 15th on the grid and just over three tenths from a place in QP2.
KTM has been hard at work between the last round in Texas and the Spanish Grand Prix, the Austrian marque testing, amongst other things, a new ‘big bang’ engine at Le Mans last week. Bringing it to Jerez to continue evaluation, the motor received heaps of praise from Espargaro on Friday.
Opting to stick with it for the remainder of the weekend, Espargaro showed strong pace all day on Saturday. In qualifying, the Spaniard was a contender in the battle for the top two, but his 1m39.282s saw him just miss out.
Despite this, 15th is KTM’s best qualifying result in their short MotoGP career, a result made all the more sweeter, according to Espargaro, by the fact they were just four tenths off the pace of factory Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo.
“We are 0.2s from Folger, who is eighth, and 0.4s from Jorge on the factory Ducati. And it is out fourth race,” an exultant Espargaro stated to news outlet crash.net.
“We cannot ask for more. I’m really pleased. We were ninth in FP4, which for me is the most important session looking to the race.
“I have done the lap behind Valentino Rossi, but I was also around the same time alone, maybe only two or three tenths more.
“This was a dream only a few days ago. Honestly, it’s amazing to be where we are after four races and considering where we were at the last race – it’s unbelievable.”
The closest KTM to pole at the end of qualifying in Austin was Bradley Smith in 18th, the Briton well over three seconds off the pace. Espargaro’s time in QP1 at Jerez put him just over a second adrift, and he attributes this to the vastly improved acceleration from the RC16’s new engine.
Espargaro admits that KTM still have work to do on the chassis side, as the bike is struggling to turn. But the team has a new chassis on the way, and the Spaniard cannot comprehend just how competitive his motorcycle will be if they can make the same jump in performance with the new frame.
“In the last race were were something like one second a lap from the last rider, and here we are one second from first,” he added.
“You know what it means – okay, we are not in the qualifying two, but we were really close. (Corner exit) is the main difference. We were complaining about the acceleration, especially in the first two gears, and now the bike has good traction because the engine allows the tyre to do that also the power feels normal again. Not weak or shaking like crazy.
“Everything feels smoother and this is the result, that we can follow them on acceleration. For sure we are missing something on turning, that is out biggest issue.
“I don’t want to imagine what is going to happen if we do the same step with the chassis. I mean, honestly, if we do the same step with the chassis that is coming soon it’s going to be crazy.”
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