Espargaro looking to build momentum

Pol Espargaro has had a disappointing year on the Tech3 Yamaha but with three races over three weekends the momentum of his season could shift rapidly with some strong results on the Asian swing of the MotoGP season. The Spaniard had a strong qualifying performance at Aragon to start fourth on the grid but faded in the race.

There have been encouraging signs that he has shown improvements of late as he continues to rediscover the pace that marked him out as a rider to watch during an impressive rookie campaign in 2014.

“We head to the other side of the planet for the first of the three fly away GP’s,” said Espargaro as he looked ahead to the coming races. “It’s all back to back races, so it’s vital to start confidently in order to get the momentum going. Japan has been very good to me in the past as I won my 2013 Moto2 title there and also the Suzuka 8 Hours, therefore I am hoping to score another result to remember, on Sunday.

“In terms of the track itself, I need to say that it is a special one and very demanding, that’s why we are certainly not expecting an easy weekend. Still, we are well prepared and aim to hit the ground running on Friday in order to be able to attack qualifying at full speed and get a solid starting position for the race. I am really excited for the Grand Prix but also ready to work hard so that we can finish where we want to, especially as it’s Yamaha’s anniversary home GP.”