Pol Espargaro: Honda is back, not just with Marc, but with me!

Pol Espargaro has claimed Honda 'is back' following an impressive podium finish at the Qatar MotoGP. 

Although he demonstrated good race pace throughout the weekend, Espargaro was not viewed as a favourite for the win heading into the 22-lap season opener. 

However, that’s exactly what Espargaro proved to be as he led the first 17 laps aboard his revolutionised 2022 RC213V. 

A first ever MotoGP win looked set to come the Repsol Honda rider’s way with about nine laps to go as Espargaro led by nearly two seconds, but as was the case in 2021, a certain Enea Bastianini had stunning late race pace that in the end gave him the chance to come back at Espargaro and eventually take his first premier class victory. 

Disappointingly for Espargaro, the Spanish rider didn’t get the chance to fight Bastianini for the win as he made a mistake immediately after being passed - misjudged his speed in the Ducati rider’s slipstream which led to him getting his braking point all wrong at turn one, which also allowed Brad Binder through to take second.

But despite the error, Espargaro is convinced he would not have taken the fight to Bastianini after suffering with rear locking during the final seven laps. 

Nevertheless, Espargaro feels his performance was more than enough to suggest he and Honda are here to stay in 2022.

Summing up his race, Espargaro added: "I didn’t expect to be in the group with many guys with the same pace, like that we could save tyres because we were with the soft front, soft rear. 

"Also we could save some fuel as everyone is on the limit, but I led most of the race and faced a different race than we planned. 

"I was pushing the tyre on it’s limit, pushing the engine on its limit. At the end, when it was seven laps to go I knew my tyres would be finished. 

"I started to lose the right side of the rear tyre on entry to the corners. Then the front started to lock. My riding style is quite based on the rear brake and the entry to try and take some stress out of the front tyre. 

"As soon as I had to use the rear brake and it was locking then I knew it was done for me. Enea passed me and I caught his slipstream; my speed increased so much that I thought I would end up in the gravel but I could stop at the end of the track and just Brad [Binder] overtook me. 

"But at the end I’m happy because this is a clear message that Honda is back, not just with Marc [Marquez], but with me."