Honda rider Pol Espargaro says after Mandalika: Michelin made the wrong choice for this weekend – Marc Marquez should rest now after crash
The fact that Michelin brought different rear tyres to the first race weekend in Mandalika than were available at the test in February caused problems for Honda in particular. While Pol Espargaro was still the fastest rider in the test, this time almost nothing worked. Team mate Marc Marquez crashed several times.
“That was the situation for us this weekend,” explained Espargaro, who had already voiced criticism of Michelin during the weekend. “We complained about Michelin because we had serious problems with the wear of the front tyre.”
In the dry, the Spaniard is sure, he would not have been able to finish the race “because the temperature in the front tyre was too hot”. The reason for this was the rear tyre, which Honda could not get into the right working window, so that the front tyre was all the more stressed – with the consequences described.
Pol Espargaro sees responsibility with Michelin
“The rear tyre kept locking up, as it did when Marc fell,” said Espargaro. “If we complain, it’s because we really have a problem. In the test we were riding fast and safe. Now we were slow and it wasn’t safe. “
The Honda rider primarily blames tyre supplier Michelin for this. “Marc was lucky he didn’t get injured. If he had been injured, it would have been the fault of an external partner who made a wrong choice for this weekend.”
Marquez had crashed again in the warm-up to the Indonesian Grand Prix after a crash on Friday and two crashes in qualifying that ended lightly for him. The Spaniard’s rear wheel broke off, which led to a severe highsider in which he suffered a concussion.
Puig: “This makes it difficult for our riders “
Accordingly, Honda team manager Alberto Puig’s Mandalika conclusion was a thoughtful one. “The feeling was, frankly, not good at all. Point one: Marc had a lot of crashes and couldn’t race. Point two: in pre-season we were very fast and then Michelin suddenly changed tyres.”
“We still don’t fully understand what happened and we need to discuss the tyre situation in depth with Michelin. It is very difficult for our riders to be consistent and have confidence when they come from a very, very fast time a month ago to the situation we are in this weekend. Overall, we can’t be satisfied. “
Talking about Marquez, Puig stressed, “The next step is his recovery. This weekend was very hard. The crash in the warm-up, his fourth this weekend, was a big blow. Right now we want him to rest. “
Sight problems slow Espargaro down in the rain
Espargaro finished as the best Honda rider in twelfth place in Sunday’s rain race. “During the race Pol had a big problem with his helmet,” Puig revealed. “It looks like he couldn’t see properly and I think he will sort this situation out with his helmet company.”
“Of course he wasn’t that fast, but from what he told us and the team after the race, he couldn’t see from the first lap. With such a big amount of water in a group of four or five riders, you have no chance if you can’t see anything. It was not a good result for him. “