Pol Espargaro optimistic after opening sessions at Valencia

Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Pol Espargaro rode to 9th place in the first day of practice at the season finale in Valencia as he aims to complete his impressive rookie year in a highly competitive manner.

The young Spaniard began the weekend at the 4005 metre Ricardo Tormo circuit by using the morning practice to confirm the base setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1 with his Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. He completed the session in 9th position with a best time of 1.32.155.

Later in the afternoon, Espargaro picked up from where he left off and persisted with his hard work on the setup for the race on Sunday at the sunny albeit windy track. He finished FP2 by posting a best time of 1’32.013, only 0.455 of a second from the rear of the front row, whilst he also set the quickest Yamaha speed of 327.8 km/h.

His start today leaves the 23 year old rider fully optimistic as he intends to snatch a strong placement in tomorrow’s qualifying at the final MotoGP round of 2014.

Pol Espargaro
“It has not been a bad day for us. We managed to improve a lot this afternoon, but I still think we have quite a lot of margin to progress for Sunday. We need to work more on our front setting as the tyre that I am feeling most comfortable with is not the best option for race distance. Therefore, this is not an ideal situation to be in right now, but I’m convinced that after we check the data thoroughly this afternoon, we will find the right direction to try and improve my feeling for tomorrow morning. Fortunately, I didn’t have too much pain in my foot during the day which I’m quite relieved about as I was a bit worried, but now I look confidently towards Sunday’s race.”

Source: Tech3 Communications