Pol Espargaro signs off in top independent position at Jerez

Pol Espargaro pulled off another solid performance today to clinch 8th in Andalucía. The 25 year old kicked off the fight from the third row on the grid and leapt forward when the lights went out before completing the opening lap one place higher. He quickly set into his formidable race pace and by the mid point of the GP, he remained in 7th. The Spaniard kept pushing but despite his best efforts, he was overtaken by the Factory Ducati of Andrea Iannone in the final third of the race. Nevertheless, he comfortably finished ahead of the pursuing riders in 8th in what was his fourth top ten result this season. Now, Espargaro confidently looks on to the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team’s home Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

Pol Espargaro – Position: 8th – Championship: 5th – Points: 36
“I am pleased to walk away from Jerez with another strong set of points but it certainly was a challenging race. The weather changed so much from the practice sessions and it was very hot out there today, so that it was tough to choose the tyres and then ride a decent race yet we did what we could. At the beginning I was just adjusting to the conditions, but I upped the pace in the middle and then went quick at the end. I feel, along with some of the other satellite riders for sure, that the gap to the factory guys is still considerable. We saw them going and just had to think about the end of the race otherwise we would wear the tyre and not finish. It’s a pity that you cannot extract all of the potential from your bike because the tyre is limited. Having said that we are in a development stage, so for sure this will improve in the future. Anyway we still managed to get 8th but we need a bit more so that we can fight a bit higher in the opening laps which we will aim to discover tomorrow. In the final third of the GP, Iannone had a bit more traction than me when exiting the corners. My rear tyre was worn so I didn’t want to push too hard and risk it all. Le Mans is next, which is the Monster Energy sponsored race and the home GP for my team. I like the track but not the weather as it changes a lot! We are all motivated and in a good position in the championship so I know we can have a positive time there.”

Source – Tech3