Pol Espargaro Wraps Indonesia
MotoGP Test On Top
M
otoGP machines visited the
all-new Mandalika Interna-
tional Street Circuit, February
11-13, ahead of the first Indonesia
Grand Prix in 25 years, set to be
held next month.
Less than a week on from a
two-day outing in Sepang, where
just 0.3 seconds covered the top
11 riders, it was even closer in
Indonesia, with 21 of the grid's 24
names kept apart by just 0.85.
Here, Pol Espargaro showed he
could well be a victory contender
on the all-new Honda RC213V,
as he led the way from reigning
champion Fabio Quartararo and
Luca Marini.
Testing conditions were far
from ideal with the state of the
filthy Mandalika track surface
a concern. Not only was test-
ing red flagged on day one due
to the condition of the tarmac;
riders were then required to run
together for a set number of laps
minutes to clear dried mud left by
rain and local construction work.
For the remainder of the test,
riders went off line at their peril,
with a number of fast crashes
following, including a 120-mph
spill for rookie Raul Fernandez on
day two.
Despite the conditions, many
factories were able to con-
tinue the good work started the
previous week at Sepang. Chief
among them was Honda, who
showed ominous pace with the
'22 RC213V.
"The bike is working well, and
we had no crashes. So, the bike
is safer than ever," said Indo-
nesian pace setter Espargaro.
IN
THE
WIND
P36
Pol Espargaro finished
off an excellent
preseason with P1 in
Indonesia on the new
Repsol Honda.
