Espargaro: "I'm far from the level I should be on"

Aleix Espargaro has said he is not "at all" pleased with his performances in this MotoGP campaign so far - and has vowed to try and improve his pace in the second half of the year.

Aleix Espargaro, Team Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP

A few weeks ago, Espargaro has announced he will be moving from Suzuki to Aprilia for the 2017 MotoGP season - but the Spaniard has insisted that his impending departure will not affect his goal of delivering strong results for Suzuki in the final stages of the campaign.

After the halfway point of the season, Espargaro is 11th in the standings, with 51 points, 119 fewer than leader Marc Marquez and 32 fewer than his Suzuki teammate Maverick Vinales.

Espargaro's best results so far have been two fifth places in Austin and Jerez.

"I'm not satisfied at all with my performance until now, I'm far from the level I should be on and what I demand from myself, and I'm working hard both on and off the track to finish the year much better than this," Espargaro told Motorsport.com.

To the rider from Barcelona, 2016 has not been an easy season, especially from a motivational point of view.

His main priority was always to stay at Suzuki, but the Hamamatsu-based team decided for an all-new line-up for 2017.

At Mugello, Suzuki announced Vinales' exit to Yamaha and Andrea Iannone's arrival from Ducati, the latter confirmation a hard blow for Espargaro, who admitted he only found out about the Italian's move through the press.

Later, at Assen, Suzuki announced it had signed Alex Rins, and on that very Sunday, after the grand prix, Aprilia confirmed the agreement with Espargaro.

"A lot of factors have come together and I don't like to use excuses. The bike is competitive and Maverick also is.

"Outside circumstances have influenced so I'm not 100 percent motivated, but when you jump on the bike and you work, everything comes down to being competitive or not. And I'm working harder than ever with the team, physically."