Pol Espargaró confirms that he maintains contacts with Honda and Ducati for 2021, as well as with KTM

2023 Author: Nicholas Abramson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 02:44

Right now it is the most coveted piece on the MotoGP market. Pol Espargaró is the most attractive rider of those left free for 2021, with the permission of an Andrea Dovizioso who is three times runner-up in the world but has the most limited destinations. Espargaró is the key player in the market.

The youngest of the Espargaró races with KTM and the Austrian brand would love to keep it that way from next season. However, the Spanish rider has confirmed something: that in addition to KTM, It is also maintaining contacts with Honda and Ducati. Espargaró does not rule out a change of scenery.

Espargaró rules out going to a satellite team because he will only change KTM "for something much better"

Espargaró himself confirmed it in an interview on Spanish radio Onda Cero. " The contacts with Ducati and with Honda, which are the two factories with free seats, are activeAs with KTM, "said the Catalan rider. Espargaró explained that you have to talk to all the teams and keep active contacts until a decision is made.

Currently only seven riders have their places confirmed for 2021. Marc Márquez will continue at Repsol Honda, Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales will be a couple at Yamaha, as will Joan Mir and Álex Rins on Suzuki. Jack Miller will be at Ducati and Tito Rabat at Avintia. Pol Espargaró is, together with Andrea Dovizioso, the key to what remains of the market.

The two options, Ducati and Honda, would be very positive. In the case of those from Borgo Panigale, they only have Miller with a contract and there has been talk for a long time that they want a renewal. Negotiations with Dovizioso are very stuck, and there was speculation with a barter whereby the runner-up in the world went to KTM and Espargaró take his place at Ducati.

As to HRC, the bike fits like a glove in the style of Espargaró. He recognized it himself in the interview: "The Honda is a motorcycle very similar to the KTM and it is an option to consider if the possibility were given." The gap he would occupy would be Álex Márquez, who has not yet made his MotoGP debut but ends his contract this year. It would be a low blow to get off the bike like that to the Moto2 champion.

What Espargaró is clear that he will not drive for a satellite team again. In fact, he explains that in preseason "I had a conversation with Mike Leitner about the options for him to sign for a satellite team. And I told him that in the hypothetical case that he made a change, it should be much better."

In fact, Espargaró says that " when I was in the Yamaha satellite team, the only official thing I had were the papers that I signed And I was very disappointed. "There is another brand that still has open spaces, Aprilia, but it seems that it is not part of Pol Espargaró's plans. That will be the territory of his brother Aleix.

Pol Espargaró explains how the new normal was in his test at the Red Bull Ring

In addition, another interesting point of the interview was the explanation that he gave Espargaró on the test he did last week with his KTM at the Red Bull Ring. It was the way to reconnect with the bike after more than three months of break and, according to him, a dress rehearsal of what the new normal of motorcycle racing will be like.

"The trip itself was an adventure from start to finish, with images that I will remember for a lifetime, because most airports were run by the military. There was a very strict working method to keep distances, all mechanics with masksWe all washed our hands 20 times. My technician used screens to talk to me, "said Espargaró.