Pol Espargaro returns to the team with which his adventure in MotoGP began – in the French Tech3 Racing, but now not with Yamaha, but under the banner of the subsidiary brand KTM – GasGas. For Espargaro, this is a double return: firstly, to Tech3; secondly, to the saddle of the well-known KTM RC16, with which he worked until 2021.
Almost the entire career of Pol Espargaro in the Royal Class is connected with Tech3 and KTM. Pol moved from Moto2 to MotoGP at the invitation of Yamaha in 2014, he was placed in the Tech3 satellite, in which he worked for 3 seasons, awaiting transfer to the factory team. But Yamaha Racing did not bet on him, but on Maverick Vinales, and Espargaro and his partner Bradley Smith fled to the brand-new Mattighofen factory project. From 2017 to the end of 2020, Espargaro worked at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with whom he lived soul to soul. But then, for some reason, Pol accepted a damn difficult challenge – he signed a contract with Repsol Honda…
But the funny thing is that when Pete Bayer wished his beloved pilot “all the best and success in a new adventure” in 2020, he immediately made a reservation that the door to KTM is always open for Pol. As I knew!
Pol received an offer from KTM Factory Racing back in July, initially, it was about joining a team that would have the status of a factory. The colors didn’t matter.
“For me, this was the key – it was the factory contract, with full factory support, factory development, and factory parts. This is what I was looking for after Repsol Honda,” says Pol Espargaro. – That it will be a similar bike with Brad and Jack. To return to this project, where I have a lot of friends left, with whom I have an excellent relationship, is always great. These people have been like a second family to me for several years. Brad Binder is a great friend, we regularly hung out together in the paddock in the evenings. In general, I am satisfied.”