Pol Espargaro finishes 8th in Australia

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro produced a consistent performance down under to complete the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 8th position aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.

The young Spaniard kicked off his campaign at the 4.4 kilometre Phillip Island Circuit from the rear of the third row and when the lights flicked off, he jumped forward before completing the opening lap in 11th. Espargaro then quickly set into his strong race pace and began muscling his way through the field.

By the 5th lap, he was back up to 9th position and exchanged places with Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati several times. He powered past on the 8th lap and then opened up a gap quickly, with Aleix Espargaro next up in his sights. After inching closer lap by lap, the 2013 Moto2 World Champion dived past on the fifteenth lap and then comfortably pulled away.

He carried on pushing before eventually crossing the finish line in 8th, closing what has been a challenging weekend for the 24 year old.

Next up is the final flyaway race at Sepang, where he will seek to battle his way into the leading satellite position and fight as close as possible to the factory MotoGP bikes.

Pol Espargaro
“Today’s race was a solid finish to the weekend and we have to be satisfied when bearing in mind how we started on Friday. In addition, the gap to the riders in front is not as big as it has been at other races this year, so all in all we have to be pleased. Having said that, I also have a bittersweet taste in my mouth when thinking about the confidence and pace that I had in today’s warm up, but for some reason the grip level during the race always seems to be lower than in the morning. This lack of grip generates a few issues for us which we have experienced in the last couple of races as well as today. Therefore, we need to find a solution to this matter and be more prepared for the race at Sepang, even if this round has been a positive one.”

Source: Tech3 Communications