Pol Espargaro "wasn't ready" for Honda MotoGP debut
Pol Espargaro admits the lack of pre-season testing in 2021 meant he came into the Qatar Grand Prix opener in March “not ready” for his Honda debut.
The 2013 Moto2 world champion made a shock switch from KTM to the factory Honda squad for 2021, but found the transition immensely difficult.
With COVID-19 forcing pre-season testing to be cut down to just five days in Qatar before the first two races of the year at Losail, Espargaro was left playing catch-up for most of the campaign.
The 2021 Honda lacked rear grip, which caused issues for its riders exiting corners as well as into them – Espargaro unable to utilise his normal braking style of using the rear brake as a result.
Several post-race tests during the season allowed him to make some headway, with Espargaro scoring pole at Silverstone and claiming his best-ever MotoGP result of second at the Emilia Romagna GP to complete Honda's first 1-2 behind Marc Marquez since 2017.
Reflecting on his first season as a Honda rider, Espargaro admits he started it really on the back foot, but felt tangible progress had been made on the bike on the run in to the end of the year.
"Basically, the experience in MotoGP is half of the way – it's super-important," Espargaro said.
"And especially when you are changing bikes, the level now in MotoGP is fantastic, it's super, super high.
"So, you have no time to say you are adapting, or you have no time to test, you have not so much testing now.
"We went into the first race in Qatar not ready, actually, with a few a laps in Qatar [testing] and a few laps on the bike.
"So, definitely I was not ready. Then I needed to discover how to ride the bike during the race weekends, which is very, very difficult because you have all the pressure, you want to perform well, you have crashes, you have no time to work on the bike.
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
"So, we needed to use the small tests as a very important test for us, and through the year these tests – especially from the middle of the year to the end – we really improved the bike, we really improved our set-up and I started to feel much better on the bike.
"Sure, if we could have this experience at the beginning of the year, like if the race in Portimao [the Algarve GP] was the first race, the year would have been much easier and different.
"But in the end it is what it is, we can't go back in time. We need to take it.
"What was good is we ended with a pole position and a podium, we fought for top five positions in the last races and this is something great."
Espargaro ended the year 12th in the standings on 100 points – 42 adrift of Marc Marquez, who missed four races through injury and crashed out of four others.
After the two-day post-season Jerez test, Espargaro – who was still battered from a violent crash which ruled him out of the Valencia finale – was positive about the steps Honda had taken with its 2022 bike, noting that the updated RC213V had regained that missing rear grip.
The Rossi-less future MotoGP must now navigate
Binder: 2021 MotoGP season was an extended rookie campaign
Why a difficult 2021 hasn't broken Pol Espargaro's resolve
Pol Espargaro’s switch to Honda for 2021 was one of MotoGP’s biggest rider market shocks. But a difficult bike coupled with various external factors led to a difficult first campaign. As a critical 2022 campaign for both Espargaro and Honda looms, his 2021 experience hasn’t dented his long-held resolve
Why KTM's latest young outcast is a cautionary tale for MotoGP
Iker Lecuona’s absence from the 2022 MotoGP grid after losing his KTM ride will likely pass most onlookers by. But after just 30 race starts in a MotoGP move he was sucked into by circumstance, the World Superbike-bound 21-year-old's story should act as a warning to KTM - and MotoGP as a whole - in regards to its future stars
How Ducati's expanded roster will threaten MotoGP's balance in 2022
That Ducati will compete with eight prototypes in MotoGP this year is nothing new, having already done so between 2016 and 2018. But the involvement and coverage of the Borgo Panigale company in its alliances is now much greater than in past years, which could have the effect of unbalancing the premier class
Ranking the top 10 MotoGP riders of 2021
Although Fabio Quartararo wrapped up the 2021 MotoGP title with two rounds to go, the Yamaha rider had strong competition from the revitalised Ducati factory team and a revitalised Marc Marquez. Read on to see who makes our top 10 list.
How Quartararo cast aside prior doubts to become MotoGP's new king
Doubts were cast over Yamaha’s French recruit after his disastrous end to the 2020 MotoGP season with Petronas SRT, but Fabio Quartararo answered them convincingly in 2021 to claim a MotoGP title that exhibited both his devastating speed and mental strength
The Rossi-less future MotoGP must now navigate
Motorcycle racing's greatest showman has left the stage, as Valentino Rossi calls time on his remarkable career on two wheels. But in his successors, all of whom were inspired by 'the Doctor', grand prix racing has vibrant new acts to keep us hooked
Valentino Rossi’s 10 greatest MotoGP races
As the Italian legend finally bows out and retires from MotoGP, it marks the end of one of the most incredible careers in motorsport history. Here is Motorsport.com's pick of his best rides and the stories behind them
How Ducati has drawn first blood in the 2022 MotoGP title race
The 2021 MotoGP season may have only just ended but preparations for 2022 are well underway following a two-day test at Jerez this week. Ducati has hit the ground running while a lack of progress dominated Yamaha’s and world champion Fabio Quartararo’s test. While no battle lines have been drawn yet for 2022, it appears Ducati has already drawn first blood...