Marco Bezzecchi
Pit Beirer revealed that Pol Espargaro was outperforming KTM’s full-time riders at Jerez thanks to his know-how of the bike and the Spanish Grand Prix circuit.
It wasn’t an ideal weekend for KTM at the Spanish Grand Prix, as their results in the sprint race didn’t help them much in terms of their points haul at Jerez.
Brad Binder earned six points in the sprint race, making him the only rider under the KTM umbrella to earn points on Saturday.
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However, the Spanish Grand Prix saw three KTM riders earn points, with Enea Bastianini earning eight points for Tech3, while Pedro Acosta and Binder earned six and five points, respectively.
KTM Motorsports director Pit Beirer lamented Pol Espargaro’s absence at Jerez after the weekend, noting that the KTM test rider was performing much better than the rest of the team at his home track.
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Pit Beirer reveals Pol Espargaro was outpacing ‘regular’ KTM riders at Jerez
While speaking to Speedweek, Pit Beirer shared his frustration over KTM’s performance at the Spanish Grand Prix.
More than Maverick Vinales’ absence, it was Pol Espargaro opting out of the race that hurt the team, especially as Espargaro was performing much better than the full-time riders on the track.
“What annoys me even more than Maverick’s absence in Jerez is that Pol also dropped out. I think he could have been even more valuable in helping us better understand this weakness.
“Pol knows the current bike and is more at home with it in Jerez than anyone else. He was doing a 1:37.5 lap in the test as a race setup – and when our regular riders are doing 1:38 lap times in the GP, I start to have my doubts.
“There’s no doubt about the riders’ commitment, so we need to use Monday’s test to try new things.”
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Pit Beirer believes Pedro Acosta struggled with his bike ‘all weekend’ at Jerez
Further in the interview, Beirer noted that Pedro Acosta was struggling significantly with the KTM bike all weekend. But it was Acosta struggling in the same areas Bastianini performed well that caught Beirer off guard.
“Pedro didn’t feel 100% on the bike all weekend. You could see that with the naked eye. He had consistent problems.
“Especially in the last sector, and lost a lot of time in the fast corners where you need absolute confidence. Which was quite surprising, because Enea was particularly strong in exactly those sections.”
The Spanish Grand Prix didn’t turn out the way KTM would have hoped, as the presence of just three riders on track already limited their maximum points spread on the weekend.
And with Binder, Acosta, and even Bastianini struggling to break into the top five in both the sprint and the Grand Prix, their overall performance was lacklustre.
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