until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
The three Honda riders contesting Q2 in Le Mans were first, second and third, staring at a sensational front row lock-out, when the chequered flag flew. And as rain looked to be picking up again, the higher-ups could’ve been forgiven for starting to celebrate a truly remarkable result, given that none of its riders have qualified higher than fifth all season so far.
But a minute later, that pesky stat still stood. The brief rain recurrence hadn’t done enough to spoil the track conditions, and as many as five riders slotted in before the Honda trio.
It was particularly galling for Pol Espargaro, the Honda newcomer seeming to have timed his final run to perfection. He was riding in the wheeltracks of Fabio Quartararo and Jack Miller – about to qualify first and third respectively – and he posted the fastest time in the first sector.
If he’d completed that lap he looked nailed on for the front row at the very least, but he fell at the sweeping Musee left-hander.
“I’m pissed off with myself,” Espargaro admitted. “Because today we were aiming for the pole position or top three for sure.
“The T1 [first sector] in that lap was amazing. Was two tenths faster than Fabio, three tenths faster than Jack, and they both are in the first row.
“It’s painful because I felt I could do it. I’m pissed off because for example in Jerez I knew the chances for me were very low, but here I had a huge chance to be in an amazing position to be fighting for pole.”
The crash itself, Espargaro said, was a consequence of the ever-present Le Mans problem of easing off too much and letting the tyre temperature drop to where the risk of crashing was elevated.
“I was waiting till the end to make a last push, two or three laps till the end it started to rain, I slowed down because of the rain, I’m sure I slowed down too much, and then I was asking too much in corner six, and I crashed.
“The feeling is amazing in the dry, I think we are one of the fastest… yeah, it’s painful to know that I am one of the fastest and starting in eighth position, the third Honda. This is killing me. We’ll go again tomorrow.”
The Honda rider starting immediately ahead of Espargaro was likewise disappointed, but only “a little bit”. Takaaki Nakagami’s qualifying downfall – for which he apologised to his LCR team – was a matter of timing.
“The last two minutes we saw some drops of rain in sector three and four. Also Marc [Marquez] was in front of me, like five seconds ahead, and he also a bit slowed down, I followed him to slow down, too. Then I couldn’t push, I couldn’t bring the best performance in sector 1, Turn 3 [Dunlop chicane left-hander], and this is everything.
“I was a bit too slow and I couldn’t take any risk, I lost a couple of tenths in sector one, and then it’s game over. Then arriving in sector two I realised that track condition was good, I tried to push again but the remaining time was only 30 seconds, I couldn’t reach before the chequered flag [to start another lap].”
The only Honda absent from Q2 was that of Nakagami’s LCR team-mate Alex Marquez, a Le Mans podium finisher last year. The younger Marquez looked capable of mounting a Q2 challenge, but instead added another crash to his increasingly large 2021 collection, falling at La Chapelle and resigning himself to 19th on the grid.
“I mean, looks like everything that I’m trying, all the key moments, always happens something,” he said. “It’s like this – these things and times when you try something, always you are wrong and you make mistakes.
“But when you’re in a situation like this, you need to still go, still work, because in the end when you’re like that you can give up or you can continue. I choose to continue because I know all the work we’re putting in, all the effort we’re putting in, needs to be compensated in some point.”
There was a dose of misfortune for his brother too, yet Marc Marquez was the only Honda rider content with the outcome of qualifying – even though he’d taken the chequered flag as provisional pole-sitter yet wound up sixth on the grid.
“It was a shame [that] I was the first rider to take the chequered flag, I needed one more lap – but I’m very happy,” he insisted. “It’s not an excuse because even like this was difficult to improve the laptime.
“The first two rows was the best result, the best dream. We are there, we are sixth – will be easier tomorrow, minimum the first laps, to start well.”
