Espargaro and Smith talk Suzuka

The Suzuka 8 Hours is one of the most famous races in the world and for Pol Espargaro it provides a unique challenge. The Spaniard admitted to MCN that working with his teammates to improve the bike was one of the biggest things that he has had to adapt to throughout the year.

With Espargaro and Bradley Smith teamed alongside Katusaki Nakasuga the duo have had to learn about how to set the bike up to be optimised for three riders rather than two riders.

“Here you are so egoist (he means selfish), only focussed on yourself,” said Espargaro. “You have to be really perfect. There you have to be more margin of mistake. If you have some chatter – we didn’t have – but if you have you have to think the team-mates have this. You have to do everything together. The principle is to not be egoist (selfish) and adapt to some problems.

Both Smith and Espragaro said that their first experiences at Suzuka showed just how dangerous the track was and that it has outgrown MotoGP machinery. Smith commented that on a track walk with Espargaro they noted corners ‘that you can’t crash there’ while saying also that the track was fantastic and the tarmac offered tremendous grip.

Smith commented that the R1 that they will use is ‘pretty much an M1’ and that the Bridgestone tyres share plenty of similarities to the MotoGP rubber used.

If both riders can get the most from the bike and work well together they are confident that they’ll be in a position to win the first Suzuka 8 Hours for Yamaha in 20 years.