MotoGP: Espargaro ends MotoGP pre-season on top

Pol Espargaro ruled supreme on the final day of running in Indonesia, ending the winter tests with a confidence building day at Mandalika in Indonesia.

Sunday, the final day of MotoGP pre-season testing, saw a late revision to the schedule as riders were given more time for practice starts and the circuit given time to clean the start-finish straight. With the break in action coming at 13:00 Local Time, a natural lunch break was added into the day.

Pol Espargaro ended the morning session as the fastest rider with a best lap of 1’31.060, 0.215s clear of second place World Championship Fabio Quartararo at the time.

This continues the fine form the #44 has found aboard the new Honda RC213V. Aside from the headline-grabbing lap time, Espargaro was able to round out his testing program and conclude a fruitful five days of running. With his work done, Espargaro and the Repsol Honda Team decided to end his day early, just before 14:00 Local Time. Even with the early finish, Espargaro’s 1’31.060 stood as the fastest lap of the day, book ending an extremely positive three days in Indonesia for the #44.

“I’m feeling really pleased with how this pre-season has gone and especially here in Mandalika,” said Espargaro.

“It’s nice to get the fastest time but what’s more important is our pace and feeling with the bike, I’m able to ride how I want. I have to say congratulations to HRC and the Repsol Honda Team for all their work over winter, they’ve put in a lot of effort and the results are showing.

“Normally at hot tracks like here and Sepang I struggle a lot, but right now we leave having done two good tests and able to find somethings for long runs and on our one lap speed. Yesterday we solved a small issue we were having and it really helped us with the one lap speed. Now it’s time to rest a little and get ready for Qatar, my confidence is good and I can’t wait to race.”

Day 3 Test Times