MotoGP: Has Pol Espargaro made a mistake signing for Repsol Honda?
Pol Espargaro will ride for Repsol Honda for 2021 and 2022, could this be a mistake?
In short? Yes. But if we published it saying just that I don’t think you would appreciate us for that. So let us expand for you.
Pol Espargaro is leaving KTM after four years of riding for the team and developing the bike, quoted as saying “I built this bike,” he is leaving the bike he has supposedly built for a bike built around Marc Marquez, a bike not even the great Jorge Lorenzo could ride. Honda have seriously struggled since Marc Marquez got injured in the opening round of the season, trailing round at the back of the grid.
On the other hand, we have seen three different KTM riders step on the podium this season with two of them taking the race win, Espargaro himself has stood on the podium at least once with the KTM outfit this season.
Pol is known to have a riding style which would suit Honda which is an advantage for the Spanish rider, he would be able to muscle the Honda the same way he does the KTM, whereas when Pol rode for Yamaha, he did not perform as well as expected as it did not suit his riding style the same way the KTM does.
KTM have finally come to the front of the MotoGP grid at the same time that Honda have gone to the back, even Cal Crutchlow is struggling saying to The Race, “At the minute, it seems like we can’t pass at all with the 2020 Honda.” KTM, on the other hand, are able to pass riders quite easily, they are very stable on the brakes and on acceleration out of the corner also.
Honda are majorly struggling in all areas, whilst KTM are doing the opposite, Honda’s chinks in their armour have broken, for all to see their kryptonite, for Espargaro, this will be a tough pill to swallow, currently riding one of the best bikes on the grid, to quit and ride for one of the worst.
At this current time, it looks like Pol Espargaro is going to go back to the 2016 days at the back of the grid unless Honda can work a miracle. Pol could also be very beneficial to Honda also as discussed by ourselves, helping to make the bike more user friendly and improve it in the areas which Marc Marquez cannot.
Featured image – www.motogp.com
