Pol Espargaro
Red Bull KTM has lifted their sixth trophy of 2020 MotoGP as Pol Espargaro finished top three for the fourth time this season at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit for the Gran Premio de Europa.
After two days of showers and mixed conditions, the first of two races at the flat and curvy circuit in Valencia took place under late autumn sunshine and temperatures that crept as high as 25 degrees. Red Bull KTM tackled the 27-laps of the thirteenth round of the condensed 2020 MotoGP season with all three of their active riders in strong grid positions: Pol Espargaro conquered the difficult damp track on Saturday to register his second Pole Position of the season (and of his career). Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Miguel Oliveira had placed 1st in Q1 and seized 8th on the grid after the Q2 session, elevated to 7th after a sanction for Aleix Espargaro. Brad Binder explored the limits of grip and traction with his KTM RC16 to sit a promising 10th.
“It was hard, so tough with these guys. They were fast but I was catching back on brakes. I lost a bit of corner speed and through the apex. But we went for the hard front and medium rear tires and it was a perfect choice. We had zero data for that selection but we gambled and I was gaining time. I’m really pleased. Another podium for KTM and myself, a great feeling.”
“I’m happy. I think the strategy in Warm-Up paid off for the race. We managed to have a good balance with the bike and a good setting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep the pace seven-eight laps to the end. After a couple of moments almost crashing, I decided to calm down and bring the bike to the garage, still make a good race and score decent points for the team.”
“The race started OK but I got a bit boxed-in through the first two-three corners. I didn’t want to take too much of a risk with the full fuel tank and I knew the Long Lap penalty was coming early on. As soon as I did it I dropped down the order and worked to catch back up but then Cal Crutchlow crashed in front of me and I had to run off the track! I lost a few more seconds that lap. The comeback was not bad. I felt good and the bike worked really well today. Even when the tires were used we could keep the same lap-times. It was a shame about the result because we had the pace for much better but I’m really happy and I think we can do a good job next weekend.”
“The weekend started well with Pol’s Pole Position but Miguel and Brad were also in the top ten so we were competitive in those wet conditions. Then race day changed a lot and tire choice was very difficult. We didn’t have enough dry laps to make a thorough set-up for the bike but the RC16 was still strong enough to fight for those results. Pol was excellent and Miguel had a superb race to the top five. And bravo to Brad for coming back all that way. All three bikes in the top seven is a pretty great day for us. I have to thank the whole team and the factory. In 2018 we took our first podium here. You can see how the amount of progress we have made in such a short time. We hope we can continue like this.”