The run at Goodwood represented a first step towards a return to normality for Pol Espargaró, who was back on his KTM RC16 for the first time since the terrible accident in Portimao, in which he suffered a pulmonary contusion, a fractured jaw, one hand, two broken ribs and three vertebrae.
Precisely the damage to the spinal column was the reason for the four and a half month absence of the Catalan rider from GPs, as he had to postpone the date of his return several times: "If it hadn't been for vertebra number 8, I would have been able to return to racing as early as June - explained the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team rider - It hadn't healed properly yet, it was also compressed; that's why I'm now one and a half centimetres shorter."
Now that his ordeal seems to have finally come to an end, the 32-year-old is looking forward to 4 August, the date on which he will face the first day of practice for the British GP, the first MotoGP round after the summer break. The medical checkup by Dr. Angel Charte, which he will have to undergo once he arrives in the circuit, seems to be a mere formality for Polyccio, who when asked by our Speedweek colleagues stated with conviction: "I'll be 100% at Silverstone".
Finding the right rhythm won't be easy for the youngest of the Espargaró brothers, who has never been away from his bike for so long, in his nine-and-a-half-year career in MotoGP.
“It won't be easy for me; I will have to get used to the usual way of working and the customs of the GPs. I'll need Silverstone to get back into race mode after this long stop. Two weeks later, in Spielberg, I will have three days on the bike behind me. There I will already have a better understanding and maybe I can try to go for a fast time. I expect a better performance in Austria, but at Silverstone I want to start with caution”, commented the Catalan rider.
Pol will need a bit of caution in his coveted return, but the Catalan is convinced that it will be easier said than done: "As soon as you find yourself in a Grand Prix, it becomes difficult to be cautious and hold back, because you want to get the maximum" Pol admitted, acknowledging that he also had some concern relating to his physical condition: "I'm training with a Superbike and on 29 July I'll go back to lapping at Barcelona, but you can't simulate the preparation required by a MotoGP. I'll have to get out on track at Silverstone and see what happens. During my first test in Aragon, in June, I felt a strong neck strain after just one day and on the MotoGP the strain will be 5 times stronger. If I'm just tired on Friday night that won't be a problem, but I don't know if I'll still feel pain somewhere,” he explained.
“The most critical point will be the neck. I think with the training and intensive physiotherapy in July, the pain will no longer be a big problem, but I have not been able to train my biceps and triceps, nor other muscle groups, for many weeks due to the fractured vertebrae, so there it will take some time before we get back to full fitness” added Espargaró, who will line up for his 278th Grand Prix and his first career sprint race in Great Britain over the weekend.