Tough start for Pol Espargaro in Qatar
Adverse conditions with the temperatures, abrasive track surface, strong breezy air and the variation of sessions (that saw practice taking place in hot afternoon sun and qualification in a cooler climate in the evening) were some of the challenges of a first action-packed Saturday of MotoGP in 2018.
The crew improved markedly with their feeling and speed over Friday’s practice sessions on the KTM RC16 and Pol Espargaro clocked a lap that pushed him up to 12th place in the Free Practice 3. A small technical problem and then a crash on his second bike limited the Catalan’s progress into FP4 and Q2; he had to accept 22nd spot at the end of the chrono.
Pol Espargaro:“This morning was positive and we were pushing in FP3 to go to Q2 and I think we did a good job with 12th and 1.2 to the top. We were not far away. Then I jumped on the bike for FP4 and we had a small problem so we changed bikes and then I crashed. It is a shame. I think today we did a good job and I felt good with the bike. Tomorrow I will try my best. If our bad luck goes away I think we can do something interesting.”
