If we were to say KTM had an underwhelming MotoGP pre-season test at Sepang, the manufacturer would likely to object to that. Certainly, the messaging was different – the words “positive”, “satisfied” and “confident” were bandied about in reasonably ample amounts.
But it’s surely at least fair to say that the test was not as positive for KTM as for some of its rivals. In terms of single-lap pace, the fastest RC16 bike clocked in at nine tenths off the pacesetter. “Expectation was quite high, and we missed something. We missed something, to be completely honest and fair,” acknowledged KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti. That ‘something’, he then elaborated, is simply ‘some tenths’.
So, the vibe is a guarded one. For KTM. But for Gas Gas – the sister brand now represented by the Tech3 team – the rhetoric from its lead rider is a lot more assertive, even though the equipment is the same.
When it was put to Pol Espargaro that the RC16s were ‘not brilliant’ on the laptimes, he responded: “Well, yes, we are!”
Espargaro, returning to the set-up in which he was once the absolute benchmark after two years in a Honda wilderness, placed 13th fastest, but did his best laptime just short of the final day’s halfway point. The implication from him was that he absolutely could’ve vaulted himself up the order later on if there was a benefit.
“But it’s not the day to be on the top. The day to be on the top is in Portimao. And I have the feeling we did our homework pretty good,” he said.
“Not just one lap, in the pace. For sure we could be much higher – but you learn these things with age, some things are not needed, and we did the right things when we needed to do, and we’re all pretty happy and we will show it in Portimao.”
Espargaro was in a good mood. The high point of his final-day media address was some jovial banter after he’d corrected himself in referring to “the engine department at KTM” – officially, he’s not a ‘KTM rider’ so the rider and the attendant media amusedly pivoted to referring to the Pierer Mobility Group (parent company of KTM and Gas Gas) instead.
But the reason Espargaro wanted to bring up said engine department in the first place is because he wanted to “really congratulate” the staff. While Guidotti acknowledged there were “question marks” about the engine spec coming out of Sepang and KTM’s talisman Brad Binder found his limited mileage with the new unit to be inconclusive, Espargaro was delighted. “They [the engine department] have been working flat out and the improvements are super nice.”
Binder indicated he still wanted to see “a little bit more power on corner exit – that’s where we really get hurt compared to our competitors”, but that wasn’t the case for Espargaro.
“We improved quite a lot that [acceleration]. So it needs to go step by step,” he said. “The engine department did great steps.
“You always can ask for more, we are humans and we want unlimited material, and the better it is the better for the rider. But sometimes you need to go moving step by step slowly to improve the bike.
“And I think the steps we have done today, they have been good. And I’m not super worried about it.”
Espargaro also acknowledged he was “surprised the situation changed so much during the test” on his side of the garage, with how well his bike reacted to changes. “By the end of the [final] day I was happy, with the used tyre I was doing 1m59s-middle/high, which is not bad for our bike here.”
And on whether he could fight for the top five in the first few races, he said: “Yeah, we need to go for it.
“I don’t know what to expect, for sure all the competitors are going to be very strong – but I feel strong too, and Pierer Mobility Group feels strong to fight for something great.
“So… as I said, we on the [classification] list are not on the top – but I think we can be. What’s important is that we know that the things have been done right, the test has been good. And we are ready for Portimao.”
At this point, the elephant in the room becomes suffocatingly massive. Esparagro also had some very encouraging tests ahead of his first season with Honda – that season was a dud. He then had even better tests ahead of his second Honda season – and he fought for victory in the Qatar opener, then had such a poor rest of the season that simply describing him as a ‘non-factor’ is honestly kind of doing him a favour.
And it’s clear he remembers that. “We need to go racing. It’s so easy to make laptimes at the end of the third day of testing. That’s easy.
“When you are on the middle of the stress, different racetracks – this is when you really see your potential and your real level.
“I was one of the fastest here in Malaysia last year. In rhythm, I was the fastest. In Mandalika, I was the fastest in time and in rhythm as well, from all the grid. And then, look at my disaster year.
“You need to perform on the race weekends, not on the tests.”
He also acknowledged that the gradual improvement over three days at Sepang wasn’t something that could be counted on during a race weekend. “If we move to another track and we have a day as we had on the first day here in Malaysia, we are done. Our weekend is done.
“Because then you are in Q1, you start the sprint race bad, so… your weekend is done.
“It’s important to be fast from the first day, and that’s what we’re going to try to do – [in races] after Portimao, because Portimao we have the test [at the same track before the opener] so it’s going to be easier.”
The past two seasons – and just the general understanding that Espargaro is more excitable than many of his MotoGP peers, which is in no way, shape or form a criticism – suggest it’s probably wise to take his optimism with a pinch of salt.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t be quite good again – something that already seemed a distinct possibility when the move was announced.
The RC16 is still his baby. The ‘DNA’ of the bike, Espargaro is convinced, has stayed the same – no need for a paternity test.
So, why can’t he be that same rider that convinced Honda to commit to him a full season in advance? And, really, as excellent as Binder has been, is it so completely fanciful to imagine Espargaro reclaiming his KTM – or Pierer Mobility Group – throne once more?
