Pol Espargaro has KTM contract for 2024, but doesn’t want to stand in the way of the other contenders should his performance be off after long injury
Unwillingly more than four months late, Pol Espargaro contested his first MotoGP race of the current 2023 season last weekend. In the winter, the Spaniard made the switch back to the KTM camp after two largely unsuccessful years in the Honda factory team. At Tech3-GasGas, Espargaro’s anticipation for the season was high, but then everything turned out differently.
Espargaro crashed heavily in Friday practice for the season-opener, the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao, which was held at the end of March. The injuries he sustained included to his back and jaw. Since mid-June, there had been several considerations for a comeback. In the end, however, Espargaro listened to the doctors’ advice and sat out until the beginning of August.
When the World Motorcycle Championship returned from its summer break last weekend for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Espargaro finally made his long-awaited racing debut in GasGas colours. He finished P16 in the Sprint (Saturday) and P12 in the Grand Prix (Sunday) after a break of more than four months. In the Grand Prix, he thought about retiring, as according to his own statement, he was completely done in after only ten laps.
Another matter, however, is far from completely settled, namely the question of who will sit on the four KTM bikes in the 2024 MotoGP season. In the factory team, everything is clear with Brad Binder and Jack Miller. But in the Tech3 team, which promotes the GasGas brand, there are three contenders for two bikes. Espargaro is one of the three. And the 32-year-old Spaniard is aware that he could be the one to make way.
Espargaro doesn’t want to get in the way in the KTM grid
“We are all competing here knowing we have to perform,” Espargaro said at Silverstone on Thursday, a day before he got back on a MotoGP bike for the first time in just over four months.
“Since the beginning of my MotoGP career, which is now almost ten years ago, I have realised that it takes performance to have a future in this racing series. That is true for everyone. But it is especially true for my situation with my return after a serious injury,” said the Spaniard.
“Because I have not raced for so long, of course there are doubts, no question,” said Espargaro, adding, “These doubts exist for everyone and I don’t exclude myself at all. For sure, I have signed a contract for 2023 and 2024. But the performance comes first for me.”
“If the performance is not right, then I will vacate my seat. I feel part of this [KTM] family and I will not hesitate to step aside should that be necessary to see this manufacturer continue to shine,” Espargaro said.
Pedro Acosta & Augusto Fernandez: One or both at Tech3 in 2024?
Apart from Pol Espargaro, Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez also have no final clarity for 2024 at this point in time. Acosta, the leader of the Moto2 World Championship standings since last weekend, has been promised a place in the premier class by KTM for next year. And Fernandez, the 2022 Moto2 World Champion, who is currently riding his rookie season in the premier class at Tech3-GasGas, is visibly improving.
Due to Espargaro’s Portimao crash, Fernandez even found himself unexpectedly in the lead role in the Tech3 team. At those races where the second bike was used without Espargaro (there were six races), KTM test rider Jonas Folger was in the saddle. In the other two races Fernandez was the lone rider.
Fernandez has competed in all the races so far this season and has always scored points on Sundays. At the French Grand Prix in Le Mans, he missed the podium in fourth place by only 1.5 seconds. The MotoGP rookie has never crashed in a Grand Prix. He is 13th in the current 2023 MotoGP standings. Thanks to his solid performances, Fernandez has a bone to pick with Tech3 team boss Herve Poncharal.
