MotoGP: Espargaró confirmed at KTM alongside Smith

KTM have confirmed that Pol Espargaró will join his current teammate Bradley Smith for two more years at the Austrian manufacturer, as he makes the move from Monster Tech 3 Yamaha after two seasons.

The move makes sense for the younger of the brothers as he looks to replicate big brother Aleix’s factory successes on the Suzuki machine. Hoping to be in line for a shot at the factory Yamaha seat, Pol’s expected move comes in the wake of that avenue being closed with the signing of Maverick Viñales to join Valentino Rossi.

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The move form KTM comes as somewhat of a backtrack from KTM, who admitted earlier in the year that they were in the market for a younger rider, and were potentially waiting to see how the Moto2 championship shaped up before signing any riders.

However, with a frantic market and the availability of Espargaró, it looks like they have instead made their decision much earlier than planned.