MotoGP Argentinian GP
Two-day MotoGP weekends “impossible”, "dangerous" – Pol Espargaro
Honda’s Pol Espargaro believes it would be “impossible” for MotoGP to switch to two-day race weekends following the revised Argentina Grand Prix schedule, saying they are “so dangerous”.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: Apr 5, 2022, 11:49 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
MotoGP was forced to condense this weekend’s Argentina GP to two days when freight delays meant Friday’s running had to be cancelled and a revised schedule put in place.
As the calendar expands to 21 races this season, the discussion this weekend in light of the freight problems has revolved around whether MotoGP should use Argentina as a test to see if reducing grand prix days could be an option in the future.
But with only two hours of practice split into FP1 and FP2 followed directly by qualifying, Espargaro – who came through Q1 to put his Honda fourth on the grid – believes two-day weekends wouldn’t be safe enough for riders.
“Stressful. That was very stressful,” Espargaro said of his day. “I mean, the day was stressful by itself, we didn’t need to add more things for it to be less stressful.
“I crashed, I went into Q1, I didn’t have enough tyres for Q2. I mean fuck, it was everything wrong with a good ending. But everything was not good, super stressful.
“Taking important decisions in the last moment to change the bike that finally worked. But it was tight, everything tight and to the last moment.
“This schedule, some were thinking about it for the future that maybe it would work. For me, it’s impossible.
“No way we can race like that, it’s so stressful and so dangerous because we push these bikes to the limit with very little knowledge of the track, of the bike on the tracks, and the tyres. It’s difficult.”
Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Espargaro says his qualifying turnaround is “difficult to believe” and says his final push lap to get out of Q1 gave him trust in himself.
“Before the Q1, I did the first run after the crash in FP2, I did 1m39.3s,” he added. “I was out, we didn’t know if I could qualify, but we kept fighting and working and with the second tyre we pushed to the limit and I almost crashed at the last corner with a huge shaking.
“But that lap time gave me the feeling that I needed to trust a little bit in myself, the bike started to be better with the change we did for the Q2.
“The track was more grippy, and the more the grip the track has the faster I am and I think I take more advantage than the others in this situation.
“Finally, I could qualify P4, but it was tough.”
Read Also:
- Argentina MotoGP: Espargaro takes historic first Aprilia pole
- Miller hit with grid penalty after Quartararo Q2 incident
- Bagnaia escapes Argentina MotoGP penalty after FP2 incident
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Bagnaia escapes Argentina MotoGP penalty after FP2 incident
Next article Espargaro proud of pole after Aprilia's MotoGP 'suffering'
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Duncan
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
MotoGP
MotoGP Sep 19, 2024
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
Jul 5, 2024
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
Jul 5, 2024
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
More from
Pol Espargaro
Pedro Acosta backed to win KTM’s home MotoGP race - “if there’s a place, it’s here”
MotoGP
MotoGP
Austrian GP
26 d
Pedro Acosta backed to win KTM’s home MotoGP race - “if there’s a place, it’s here”
Tech3 confirms Pol Espargaro for Austrian GP as Vinales' replacement
MotoGP
MotoGP
Austrian GP
28 d
Tech3 confirms Pol Espargaro for Austrian GP as Vinales' replacement
Pol Espargaro warns 'MotoGP riders not aware of the change coming with 2027 tyres'
MotoGP
MotoGP 1 mo
Pol Espargaro warns 'MotoGP riders not aware of the change coming with 2027 tyres'
More from
Honda HRC
MotoGP to fine riders €5,000 for failing to attend promotional events
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
3 d
MotoGP to fine riders €5,000 for failing to attend promotional events
Aleix Espargaro withdraws from the Indonesian GP and focuses on Malaysia 850cc test
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
3 d
Aleix Espargaro withdraws from the Indonesian GP and focuses on Malaysia 850cc test
Honda “super bad” in Indonesian GP practice after falling behind 2025 pace
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
4 d
Honda “super bad” in Indonesian GP practice after falling behind 2025 pace
Latest news
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
WRC
WRC WRC 16 min
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 2 h
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe