When Pol Espargaro signed for Honda in spring 2020, he had high hopes. He wanted to compete with Marc Marquez on the best bike. He dreamed of victories and the chance to win the world championship. But everything turned out differently.
Marquez injured himself. Honda lost touch with the competition. When Espargaro finally joined the team in 2021, he found himself in a difficult season. The bike also didn’t suit his riding style.
In his first season he secured a pole position at Silverstone. And in Misano 2 he finished second behind Marquéz. Honda built a new bike for 2022 that initially made a good match for Espargaro. He started the year in third place in Qatar. The euphoria was great.
But it remained his only highlight. As the season progressed, he only managed one top 10 result. “Those were the two most difficult years of my sporting career,” he looks back. “It also affected my personal life.”
“I have two daughters at home. Enjoying the time with them while I was having such bad results was very difficult for me. You obviously learn how to deal with those bad moments. You enjoy the good moments more.”
“Sometimes you get used to good moments and don’t enjoy them. When you’re in a deep hole you realize how much you have to enjoy the good times because they’re rare. Hopefully I can enjoy the next two years more.”
Honda focuses development on Marquéz
When it became apparent in the spring that Honda and Espargaro would go their separate ways, he was no longer involved in the development. Takaaki Nakagami got new parts. And in the fall, the work for the future with Marquez was intensified.
“I have the feeling that I was only a year as a works driver,” says Espargaro. “This year I’ve had the same problems every weekend. Normally you look for a solution. Every rider has a different riding style, so you have to adapt the bike.”
“That’s the only way you can improve. That wasn’t the case. That’s why the situation made me sad because I think I have great potential. I was one of the strongest drivers in the winter tests and also in Qatar.”
“This is MotoGP. It’s normal for problems to arise. You have to improve things to get better. But that didn’t happen in my case. That’s why I continued to have such big problems.”
“I saw a different way of working at Honda. I didn’t expect that, to be honest. I was used to the way a European brand works at KTM for four years. They work differently. Maybe I’ve forgotten how the Japanese work and their philosophy is.”
Honda wasted “time and money” on it
Although it was clear at the start of the 2020 season that Espargaro would be leaving KTM at the end of the year, we worked flat out. He captured two pole positions and five third places. Fifth in the World Championship, Espargaro was also the best KTM rider in the final standings.
He was involved in the development right up to the end: “In Valencia I tried the Ride Height system for them for the first time. It’s an important development now. I tested it for them in the last race and helped to improve it .”
“I think Honda is doing it wrong. But I’m not the one who can tell them how to do something. I’m just the rider and I’m riding the bike. Yes, it’s difficult to accept. But I’m just someone, they pay to ride the bike.”
“I do what they want. Of course I don’t like it. I feel like they wasted their time and money on me because I could have been fully motivated and enjoyed things more.”
Alberto Puig: “Pol never gave up”
Espargaro ended his last Honda race with a fall. “We have always said,” says team boss Alberto Puig, “that Pol always tried. His commitment was never in doubt. He never found the balance with the motorcycle.”
“It’s true that the bike didn’t help him either. We can’t blame him for the results. Unfortunately, the situation and our time together wasn’t what we expected. Who will always remember him as a fast rider who never gave up Has.”
Does Espargaro also take good memories from Honda with him? “The guys in the pits were very nice. They never stopped supporting me. I take that as a good thing. When things are going badly, you see the true character of the people.”
“It’s mixed feelings. It’s sad to leave my crew. They’ve always supported me. But on the other hand, I want to finish this chapter of my career. From a sporting point of view, it was super bad. It’s also a relief.”
Espargaro drove for the Tech 3 GasGas team for the next two years. At the Valencia test he was all smiles because the KTM suits him much better.