Pol: “I apologise to Marc, I calculated badly” | “I have a 2024 contract"

Instead of Marquez passing him before the corner, as Espargaro expected, the Repsol Honda caught the GASGAS rider as he turned in.

Marquez was forced to run wide, ending his hopes of direct access to Qualifying 2, with Espargaro later given a three-place grid penalty by the FIM Stewards.

“I talked with [Marquez] just now and he understands me, because he has been in that position,” Espargaro said. “You cannot understand how fast these bikes are coming - when you’ve been away [from MotoGP] for so long, you do not coordinate the distance plus the speed.

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“So I checked behind, I saw him coming. That's why I'm not on the line. But then I expected that he would overtake me faster. [But] he was not overtaking me as I was expecting, then I made the corner.

“So it was my mistake. I calculated all the things badly. So it's just a matter of missing a lot of time on a MotoGP bike and calculating the distance plus the speed.

“But yeah, I apologise. I did a mistake for sure.”

That incident aside, it was a positive start to Espargaro’s second weekend back, finishing 15th fastest, a fraction behind KTM’s Jack Miller and five places clear of rookie team-mate Augusto Fernandez.

“Honestly, the bike works really, really good. I'm happy and pleased,” Espargaro said.

“I was not as fast as Brad because Brad has been really quick. But I've been a bit faster than Augusto and similar to Jack, so I'm pretty OK. Still, I feel I have a lot of margin, which is good. So let's do another step tomorrow.”

The Spaniard, who suffered ten fractures at the Portimao season opener, confirmed his focus is on matching the other RC16 riders.

“Yeah, 100%. At the moment they are my targets. Brad is in another level from all the Pierer Mobility Group, but I believe I can be with Jack at the moment - maybe not now, but just in the short future. And this is my target to try to be with him.

“Today we did it. This morning I was a bit faster than him. And this afternoon we matched lap time. So just I need to keep improving myself and maybe in a few races, maybe I can look for Brad. But at the moment it's too far away, he’s too fast!”

Asked where fourth-fastest Brad Binder is making the difference, Espargaro replied:

“He brakes like an animal! He brakes so late and he's able to control the bike in a very, very precise way in the inside of the corner, the way he's moving the bike and changing direction.

“I'm still weak on changing direction, especially on the right to left because all my left side of the body is way too weak and every time there is a left corner I lose quite a lot of performance from my elbow and all these parts.

“So still I have quite a lot of margin, but it's nice to always keep motivated looking at the fastest and dreaming a lot about the guys you want to beat.”

Espargaro: “I have a contract with GASGAS for 2024”

With KTM yet to clarify how they will fit an additional rider, Pedro Acosta, into their MotoGP line-up next season, Espargaro could only join team-mate Augusto Fernandez in confirming he has a contract in place.

“I read and I hear a lot, even when I was away injured, that my bike was at risk and all this. But it has never been at risk. I mean, I have a contract for this year and next year,” Espargaro said.

“If at the end of next year I'm not performing well, I'm going to be the first one to leave, but I'm gonna be here performing that two years and I believe I'm fast enough to prove it.

“But the contract I have is 2023 and 2024, with the GASGAS Factory Racing team.

“I feel I'm faster than some of the guys inside the factory, so I'm going to prove it and then it's the way that you all stop talking about that!”

KTM says that its preferred option is to try and acquire an additional grid slot to run Acosta next season, with his current Ajo team.

Dorna would prefer that the ex-Suzuki places only went to a new manufacturer, but KTM seems to be using the chance to veto a change to the technical concessions (for struggling factories such as Honda and Yamaha) as a potential bargaining tool.