Between 1000 and 850 in just a few days: Pol Espargaro’s tour de force

“Now that I’m getting used to one, I have to go back to the other!”: Pol Espargaro, standing in for Tech3 at Misano as well, talks about the ongoing challenge between the 1000 and the 850.

What’s it like to switch back and forth between a 1000 and an 850 nonstop in less than two weeks? Just ask Pol Espargaro, who cheerfully described the situation he’s living through. He has to replace Maverick Vinales at KTM Tech3, for an unknown length of time (though it seems Vinales will soon do a test in Austria to see if he’s ready to return), and in the meantime there are tests with the new MotoGP bikes to carry on. The KTM test rider is having an intense year and, on Thursday at Misano, he offered a brief comparison of the two bikes.

“I’m doing this GP with the 1000, Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll be at Mugello with the 850. From there I’ll go to Austria because I don’t know if I have to race, it depends on how Vinales is… Maybe I’ll race there with the 1000, and then on Monday I have to get back on the 850 for the Pirelli tests.” Pol Espargaro ends the list with a laugh, admitting that “It’s quite a big change, between the devices, the engine, the tires… Everything.” A challenge for himself too, since he has to shift some perspectives. “I have to train my brain for distance–speed,” he emphasized, pointing out the inevitable differences between the two bikes, such as when it comes to setting up braking.

Pol Espargaro admits to some adaptation issues in terms of distance, eye, reference points, brake play, bike behavior… adding a joke: “Now that I’m getting used to this bike, I have to go back to the other one!” Even though these with the 1000 will be his last races, wild cards will no longer be allowed in the 850 era. And physically, how is he doing? “In all the tests I’ve done I haven’t gone beyond 156–160 bpm. With the MotoGP at Aragon, halfway through the first lap I was at 178 and I even hit 190. Like that for about 40 minutes, and I was last.”

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