Espargaro suffers first Honda crash, but continues to impress

Pol Espargaro was once again the top Honda rider on day four of MotoGP testing in Qatar, but suffered his first crash with the RC213V. 

The Spanish rider has been in great form with his new team so far in 2021, which continued today as he led the session at the midway point. 

But with some fast laps coming in the final hour, Espargaro was ultimately pushed down the order to tenth.

The former Moto2 champion also suffered his first crash with the team, however, it was not the type of crash he expected. Espargaro said: "I mean yes, it was a strange crash, I want to say it's not a Honda issue as we were playing at the beginning of the session with different tyres.

"We also had a lot of head wind which was not there yesterday. The last part of the braking, the wind was coming less and the stopping was less, so I forced it a bit more, and also I was using a tyre that was not the best for those conditions lets say.

"Then I changed it for a used one from yesterday, which was a different compound and this is the one I did the better lap time with, so I would not worry so much about it because it’s not the crash I was waiting for lets say.

"The first crash honestly, I was expecting it on the time attack and pushing on the front, but it didn’t come like that, just in the first run. I wasted that card too early," said a joking Espargaro.

With Espargaro's riding style perhaps the closest to that of current team-mate Marc Marquez on the grid. The 29 year-old was asked whether he has learned why Marquez was so aggressive with the Honda for many years. 

Espargaro added: "Yes for sure. I start to understand what you need to do to get the lap time and it is clear.

"To get the lap time you need to push to the limit and through the limit. That is why sometimes Marc is very close to crashing and on the races he is on the limit.

"These types of bikes with these engine configurations need to be pushed and forced quite a lot which I really like honestly. Thanks to that I feel great riding these bikes, but then it explains why sometimes these types of crashes happen or other riders are sometimes struggling to understand the front." 

With the first race just over two weeks away, other riders have already identified Espargaro as a potential race winner come the opening round. 

The Spaniard has been especially strong with his long runs, but is refusing to get carried away by the early signs. 

"It seems that at the moment I am quite competitive, but it is just the beginning. I’m really enjoying this bike, the timing is coming but I cannot say I’m ready to fight for something great in the first race yet, but I’m close to it," said Espargaro.

"Everytime I go on the track I learn something new and I feel quite positive about it. I need to continue to work with the team and to know a little bit more about the bike. I think if we do well and no injuries or these things come, it can be a good year for us but it is just the beginning."