Pol Espargaro starts Misano weekend on top

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team rider Pol Espargaro ignited his San Marino GP campaign with a highly positive start aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 after completing the first day of action at the top of the field.

The 25-year-old got straight into action in the opening shakedown and after commencing his set up work, he impressively concluded the practice in second but only a mere tenth of a second behind the leader. The afternoon session began with the weather conditions still being perfect and Espargaro carried on from where he left off.

His lap times progressively improved before he blazed across the finish line to post a scorching lap time of 1’32.769 which left him 0.069 clear of the next rider. The outstanding performance marks the perfect comeback from an unfortunate crash at Silverstone, where he was lucky to escape any serious injury and he will look to continue the momentum tomorrow by seizing a top tier grid position.

Pol Espargaro
“It’s a great feeling to end the day in first, even if it is just the beginning of the weekend and with the plans that we have for tomorrow, we hope to continue progressing. Today the bike ran really well and I felt very comfortable on it at the Misano circuit. In addition, the tyres that Michelin brought here have allowed me to ride my Yamaha more in a way that I want to. The rear hard compound has a lot of grip and performed well whilst braking. The end result is a small trophy but the important work starts tomorrow, so tonight we will check some data to improve a bit because there is not much of a gap between the other riders. Another positive from today is that my physical condition after the nasty crash in Silverstone is not affecting my riding whilst on track. Therefore, I look forward to getting back on the Yamaha and I will do my absolute best to get a solid grid position for Sunday’s race.”

Source: Tech3