Red Bull KTM’s Pol Espargaro finishes 10th in Valencia GP

Michelle Liew

November 18, 2019

Red Bull KTM has had a swell weekend at Valencia. Check it out!

Red Bull KTM has just finished their third season of MotoGP competition at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia with Pol Espargaro coming in at 10th place. Brad Binder triumphed in the Moto2 race for the third Grand Prix in a row and came in runner-up in the FIM World Championship standings, just three points behind the ultimate placing.

Here is what the riders have to say about the weekend.

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM)- As It Happened

Photo credits: KTM

“It was not a race like we wanted today. We were missing a lot of grip, traction and turning. We have been faster this year than 2017 in the qualifying, even with my ‘highside’ we were faster on one lap and that’s fantastic because we have gained a lot in stopping but we are struggling a lot on the grip side. The year has finished and we took 100 points in the championship, which is not bad, 11th position and it was not a bad season but we need to improve for 2020. We did three good years but next year it should be better, it must be better. We need to fight for that top six-seven in the championship constantly and be more consistent,” says Espargaro as quoted from KTM Factory Racing.

Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM)- As It Happened

Photo credits: KTM

“Yesterday I said I needed to collect some points and we managed to do it but there was some help from other guys crashing in front of me so I’m still not that satisfied with 12th position. I could not feel the grip from the tyres today. I want to say thanks to KTM for letting me ride these six races. It was a nice journey but not as successful as I wanted it to be. Anyway I enjoyed it and we got some points today. The atmosphere was there all the time and that was nice.”

Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3)- As It Happened

Photo credits: KTM

“2019 is done, I’m really, really sorry to my team, especially my crew, because they were pushing so hard, but for me it was very difficult to find the rhythm to be consistent compared to my first year in MotoGP. I tried my best! This race was very slow for me. One point is better than nothing in the end, but we were hoping for a lot better race pace. Anyway, thank you to everybody to support me and believe in me and also especially Hervé for giving me this opportunity for two years. I will try to come back stronger, so this is part of my journey now.”

Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech3)- As It Happened

Photo credits: KTM

“It was my first race in MotoGP and second because I was fast all the weekend with the team, that helped me a lot, so thanks for all the good work! I crashed [and] honestly, I don’t know what happened because I didn’t brake later or change the line but first [Danilo] Petrucci crashed in this corner, then [Johann] Zarco in the same place and behind it was me. I’m just sorry for the team. Now we continue working for next year!”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager

Photo credits: KTM

“It has been a long season but with some highlights for us. Pol’s result of 10th was our tenth top ten finish of the year and eleventh in the championship is good, very good actually, and the first time we managed to get three digits for points. Pol made a great season and the team did a good job all year, even if it was a difficult race today and hard conditions. It is tough to make Q2 and we did it fourteen times: this is an indicator that our package becomes more and more competitive and we are playing more and more in the top ten.”

“We have to say thanks to Mika; he managed to get into the points and did these last six races for us. On the Tech3 side Iker did a great job through all the sessions and not crashing in difficult conditions. He made his first race experience and did good lap-times. It will be an experience he can take into the winter and he will be focussed for next year. Hafizh is leaving so thanks for all his effort he did this year. We wish him all the best in the Moto2 and Brad comes the other way and we’re excited to start our project with him. From Tuesday the new season starts and we are looking forward to it already.”