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MotoGP, Pol Espargaró changes pace, New crew chief for Smith

The two faces of KTM: The Spaniard is 7th in free practice at Silverstone, Alongside Bradley, moved up from the Test Team, is Esteban Garcia

MotoGP: Pol Espargaró changes pace, New crew chief for Smith

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KTM is beginning to show their claws. If it was test rider Kallio who surprised in the Austrian race, at Silverstone Pol Espargaró shone with his 7th place time at the end of the first day of free practice. This is a result that gives the Spaniard confidence and shows how much the RC16 has grown.

I must admit that it is a surprising result - a smiling Pol admits - but at the same time, I also know that it is only the first day and that a lot of riders are not perfectly sorted.”

Espargaró prefers to keep his feet on the ground and not to be under any illusions, but the leap forward is obvious. Credit also goes to the Misano tests at the beginning of the week.

We worked on the electronics and made progress. This lets the bike work better in all the areas - he explains - If I have to give the reasons for this growth, they would be more confidence on my part and an improvement in engine management.”

To counterbalance the Spaniard’s performance, there are enormous difficulties on the other side of the garage for Smith. Starting this morning, there was a big change in the English rider’s garage with a new crew chief: Esteban Garcia, moved up from the Test Team. KTM decided to make the change with the intent of getting him out of the slump where he has been stuck.

He is trying to work on my weak points, like my riding style and fine tuning the electronics on this bike - Bradley recounts - He has a different work method than the one I am used to and I turned a lot of laps today with used tyres, working in view of the race. In theory, tomorrow I should be faster putting on the new tyres.

But today, he was not and he finished in last pace, 3 and a half second from the lead, while Pol was within a second. This is the mirror of a difficult situation that Smith needs to try to get out of, also because Kallio is knocking rather loudly on the door to his garage for next year.

I am not worried about my future. I have a contract for next year, but I also know that I need to take a step forward” he admits.

Translated by Jonathan Blosser

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