The resolve of the Honda HRC Castrol team was tested again in Assen, Aleix Espargaro taking the chequered flag in the Sprint while Joan Mir endured double disappointment but both remained focused on the positives from steady improvements.
Having found their base on Friday, Aleix Espargaro and Joan Mir were determined to make improvements along with the warming ambient conditions. The Honda HRC Castrol team would be tested throughout a day of close calls and narrow margins, remaining focused on the ultimate goal of development for the future.
Feeling little lasting impact from his Friday fall, Aleix Espargaro continued to make the most of his weekend with the factory team. Improving his Friday time by over half a second, the most experienced rider on the MotoGP grid was able to put himselfin the mix with a variety of other bikes on the grid – a great chance to observe and learn. Lining up in 21st position, Espargaro put his head down and worked to overcome his feeling with the softer tyres. Vibrations in the closing laps saw the #41 ease his pace before crossing the line in 18th.
Luck deserted Joan Mir on Saturday, missing out on a spot in Q2 by just 0.004s after making significant steps forward with his Honda RC213V. Clearly with the speed to go alongside the top ten, Mir made an aggressive start to the 13-lap Sprint and took a wide line around Turn 1 to gain position. Unfortunately, luck would again leave him as he fell just a few corners later after running wide and onto the dirty part of the track. Unharmed, Mir remained focused on the positives of the day – namely the progress made and the speed shown in Qualifying.
A final chance to sign off the weekend on a high comes tomorrow, Sunday June 29, with the 26-lap Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled to start at 14:00 Local Time. Mir showed in Mugello that a focused approach to the long race can produce even more positives.
Aleix Espargaro
18th
“I want to first say Luca has a great team around him, really competitive and I would have liked to have been faster for them. It’s not an easy weekend with the conditions, I’m not able to use the hard front with the temperature and on the soft I can’t make the fast corners like I need to here. Working with the team, we decided to try some changes for tomorrow to see if we can improve our feeling. Here the fast corners are the most critical and it’s where we are struggling more.”
Joan Mir
DNF
“Like always, a bit of chaos at the start. I opened my line at Turn 3 to try and avoid it, went onto the dirty line and I fell. Nothing more to say on the Sprint. We were able to make good progress in Qualifying, and this is what we have to focus on. Our lap time was good and to miss Q2 by such a small margin, there’s not a lot to do as everything in MotoGP is so close. I think we have to focus on these positives and keep working for the future, working to arrive at a point where we can be stronger at tracks like Assen and Mugello that don’t suit us.”
