Pol Espargaro 12th on Czech Grand Prix

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro will start the 22 lap fight from behind his teammate Bradley Smith.

The 25-year-old commenced the day by finishing the free practice three session in 8th after pulling off his best time on the penultimate lap, which was a huge improvement of 1.192 from yesterday.

Once in QP2, he set off at speed in pursuit of seizing a top tier grid position. He built up his pace and eventually shot across the finish line after giving his all, and clinched a grid position on the fourth row, right behind his teammate. The leading independent rider in the 2016 championship will intend to close the weekend with a notable top eight finish.

Pol Espargaro
“In FP3 this morning, I felt much better on my bike in comparison to yesterday which meant that I was able to improve the lap time straight away and I finished the session in 8th. Then, later on in Free Practice 4, I was riding comfortably but I made a slight mistake in corner 6 and I touched the painted white line on the inside of the corner and I lost the front. Unfortunately, when I went out with the second bike, I didn’t have the same confidence and this is the reason for our qualifying result. I wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t feel as natural on the bike as I should have, plus I struggled to ride a similar pace to this morning. Nevertheless, I am convinced that with a bit more track time we will be back up to speed, just like we have shown this morning. In addition, the weather forecast for tomorrow is rain, so we have to wait until and see. Clearly, I didn’t give myself an easy task starting from the back of the fourth row, but as soon as the lights turn green, I will push as hard as I can to fight for the leading independent rider position.”

Source: Tech3