Photo: motogp.com
It's the end of the road for Pol Espargaro and Yamaha's satellite team, Monster Tech 3. Iwata announced officially minutes earlier that the collaboration with the Spaniard will come to an end after the last race in the current championship.
Pol Espargaro stepped up to MotoGP in 2014, after a successful 2013 season, when he claimed the championship victory in Moto2. Hopes have been very high for the young Spaniard, as he seemed to get along with the Yamaha YZR-M1 quite well, adapting quickly to the liter-class machine.
Still, the two years he spent with Tech 3 in the premier class yielded no significant results, such as a podium, let alone a race victory. Even so, in 2014, Pol Espargaro was crowned the Rookie of the Year and the top satellite rider, after finishing the championship in the sixth position, two places ahead of his teammate Bradley Smith.
2015 saw a reversal of positions, with Smith sixth and Pol Espargaro in the ninth place, whereas the current championship standing sees the Spaniard in the seventh position with 48 points, one down from his brother Aleix and 11 behind Maverick Vinales, who rides for Suzuki.
The two Tech 3 riders, Pol Espargaro, and Bradley Smith were also part of the Yamaha Factory Team, together with test pilot Katsuyuki Nakasuga at the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race, claiming the first victory for Iwata after quite a long time. This year, Pol will also be at Suzuka with Nakasuga and Alex Lowes, who was also believed to become the new Tech 3 rider.
At the time of writing, no news as to who will be on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team arrived, but Yamaha says that a "replacement for Pol Espargaro will be announced in due course." We can expect this announcement at tonight's press conference in Barcelona, ahead of the Grand Prix of Catalunya, or even earlier today. Tech 3 will also part ways with Bradley Smith, who has already been confirmed as the first of the two KTM factory riders, and it would not surprise us to see Pol Espargaro joining him.
Still, the two years he spent with Tech 3 in the premier class yielded no significant results, such as a podium, let alone a race victory. Even so, in 2014, Pol Espargaro was crowned the Rookie of the Year and the top satellite rider, after finishing the championship in the sixth position, two places ahead of his teammate Bradley Smith.
2015 saw a reversal of positions, with Smith sixth and Pol Espargaro in the ninth place, whereas the current championship standing sees the Spaniard in the seventh position with 48 points, one down from his brother Aleix and 11 behind Maverick Vinales, who rides for Suzuki.
The two Tech 3 riders, Pol Espargaro, and Bradley Smith were also part of the Yamaha Factory Team, together with test pilot Katsuyuki Nakasuga at the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race, claiming the first victory for Iwata after quite a long time. This year, Pol will also be at Suzuka with Nakasuga and Alex Lowes, who was also believed to become the new Tech 3 rider.
At the time of writing, no news as to who will be on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team arrived, but Yamaha says that a "replacement for Pol Espargaro will be announced in due course." We can expect this announcement at tonight's press conference in Barcelona, ahead of the Grand Prix of Catalunya, or even earlier today. Tech 3 will also part ways with Bradley Smith, who has already been confirmed as the first of the two KTM factory riders, and it would not surprise us to see Pol Espargaro joining him.
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