Pol Espargaró Villà (born 10 June 1991) is a Spanish
Grand Prix motorcycle racer who for 2023 will ride in the
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
class for the newly named GasGas Factory Racing team, a development of
Tech3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
. He previously spent two years with
Repsol Honda
Repsol Honda is the official factory team of the Honda Racing Corporation in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (World Championship road racing), backed by principal sponsor Repsol.
History 1990s
In the team entered a three r ...
.
Pol is the younger brother of fellow MotoGP rider
Aleix Espargaró
Aleix Espargaró Villà (born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was thSpanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and currently competes in the MotoGP class for Aprilia Racing team.
Career
Espargaró was b ...
, and is best known for winning the
2013 Moto2 World Championship
The 2013 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 65th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Marc Márquez was the reigning champion, but did not contest in season as he joined the MotoGP with Repsol Honda.
Season summary
Pol Esp ...
. This earned him a move to
Monster Yamaha Tech3 in 2014 but had 3 largely unsuccessful seasons failing to score a single podium.
He won the
Suzuka 8 Hours in 2015 with
Bradley Smith and
Katsuyuki Nakasuga, and in 2016 with Nakasuga and
Alex Lowes
Alexander Thomas Lowes (born 14 September 1990) is an English motorcycle racer. He signed in October 2019 for the Kawasaki Racing Team in Superbike World Championship as team-mate to multi-world champion Jonathan Rea.
He competed in World Su ...
. He is the first rider to finish on the podium riding a
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
motorcycle in MotoGP.
Career
125cc World Championship
Youngest rider to score a championship point (2006)
Born in
Granollers
Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental.
Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a t ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Espargaró, arrived in the 125cc World Championship in participating in the last six races of the year. This rider from replaced the injured
Andrea Iannone
Andrea Iannone (born 9 August 1989) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP World Championship from 2013 to 2019. Iannone is a race winner in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 cc World Championships.
After winning 4 races ...
at Campetella Racing and made his debut on board a
Derbi
Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA.
History
Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...
at the
Czech Republic Grand Prix. Two months before, Espargaró had made history as a
wildcard
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
in the
Catalan Grand Prix when he finished 13th to become the youngest ever point scorer in a Grand Prix at the age of just 15 years and 8 days. He ended the season winning five consecutive races in Spanish 125cc Championship to become champion, followed by a 6th-place finish at the
Valencian Grand Prix.
First podium (2007)
In 2007, Espargaró aimed to further enhance the family reputation over a full season with Campetella Racing Junior
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
. The
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
start with two good results, a seventh in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
and fourth at
Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...
, then a couple of Top 10s until the
Catalan round where he finished fifth. Espargaró's turning point came in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
where he finished in sixth place, before a top five in
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
. The
Portuguese race was the highlight point of his short career, claiming a third-place finish from seventh on the grid. Espargaró battled for the lead with
Héctor Faubel
Héctor Faubel Rojí (born 10 August 1983, in Llíria, Valencia, Spain) is a former professional motorcycle road racer.
Faubel has been racing full-time since 2002, always on Aprilia bikes. After finishing 2006 strongly he was considered ...
and
Gábor Talmácsi
Gábor Talmácsi (born 28 May 1981 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian former professional motorcycle racer. He was the 2007 125cc World Champion, and he is the first and only Hungarian to win a road racing World Championship. He has a younge ...
, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind Faubel, who won.
Return to Derbi (2008–2010)
![Phillip Island 125cc podium 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Phillip_Island_125cc_podium_2010.jpg)
After running last year on board an
Aprilia RS125
The Aprilia RS125 is a GP derived replica sport production motorcycle. It is powered by a Rotax single cylinder 124.8 cc two-stroke engine with Nikasil coated aluminium cylinder block, and liquid cooling.
Generations
RS125 Extrema/Repl ...
in Belson Campetella, he switched the
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
for the
Derbi
Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA.
History
Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...
, in this occasion an RSA and partnered by
Joan Olivé. He ended up 9th in the championship, with 3 podiums and 2 poles.
Moto2 World Championship
Pons Racing (2011–2013)
=2011
=
In 2011 he moved to Moto2 with the HP Tuenti Speed Up team with an FTR M211, obtaining second place in Indianapolis and third place in Malaysia and finishing the season in 13th place with 75 points.
=2012
=
In 2012 he moved to the Pons 40 HP Tuenti team. He Came third in Qatar. He got his first win in the Moto2 class in Spain. In Portugal he came second. He won in Great Britain, He came second in Italy and Indianapolis and third in the Czech Republic after starting on all occasions from pole position. In the San Marino Grand Prix he came second. He Won in Aragon. In Japan he came second after starting from pole position. He Got pole position in Malaysia. He Won in Australia after starting from pole position. He Got another pole position in the Valencian grand Prix. He ended the season in 2nd place with 269 points.
=2013
=
In 2013 he remained in the same team, obtaining six wins (Qatar, Catalonia, Netherlands, San Marino, Australia and Japan), a second place in Malaysia, two third places (Germany and Aragon) and six pole positions (Qatar, Catalonia, countries Bassi, San Marino, Australia and the Valencian Community). He became the world champion with 265 points.
MotoGP World Championship
Monster Yamaha Tech3 (2014–2016)
=2014
=
In May 2013, rumours appeared linking Espargaró with the
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
Tech 3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
satellite
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
racing team, to replace British rider
Cal Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and ...
. After Crutchlow signed a two-year deal with the factory
Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
team, Espargaró signed a two-year deal with Yamaha, the first year of which would be with Tech 3.
He got his first points in the premier class in the United States. His best result was a fourth place in France and he ended the season in 6th place with 136 points, also achieving Rookie of The Year and Top Independent Rider.
=2015
=
Espargaró remained with Tech 3 into the season, finishing in ninth place in the final championship standings. In 2015 he also won the Suzuka 8 Hours , alternating with Bradley Smith and Katsuyuki Nakasuga driving the Yamaha YZF-R1. He thus becomes the second Spanish driver to win this race, after Carlos Checa.
=2016
=
Espargaró again remained with Tech 3 into the season, he finished 8th in the standings with 134 points and his best finish of 4th came at the
Dutch TT
The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champ ...
. At the end of 2016 Espargaro and Yamaha split.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2017–2020)
=2017
=
Prior to the
2016 Catalan Grand Prix, it was announced that Espargaró would join the factory-supported
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
team for the season. He partnered
Bradley Smith in the team, with both riders moving across from the
Tech 3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
outfit.
His best result is a ninth place in the Czech Republic. He ended the season in 17th place with 55 points.
=2018
=
In 2018 he remained in the same team, obtaining a third place in the Valencian grand Prix and ending the season in 14th place with 51 points. This season he was forced to miss the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic , Austria and Great Britain as he fractured his left collarbone in the warm up of the Czech Republic GP and the Aragon Grand Prix for a new fracture of the same bone remedied in free practice of the GP. In the Valencian Community Grand Prix he achieved his first podium in MotoGP, a third place. He closed the season in fourteenth place in the drivers' standings
=2019
=
Espargaró's season in 2019 did not build on the expectations created at the end of the 2018 season where he and KTM achieved their debut podium. He scored KTMs first dry front row start in Misano, and KTMs best dry result in Le Mans where he finished in 6th place, 5.9 seconds behind the race winner. Espargaró finished the 2019 season 11th in the standings with 100 points.
=2020
=
Espargaró finished the 2020 MotoGP season 5th in the standings level on points with Andrea Dovizoso, he made history by taking KTMs first pole position at the
Styrian Grand Prix, another pole at the
Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
The Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event held in Spain that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The event takes place at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo (also known as Circuit de Valencia). Between 2022 an ...
and a total of 5 podiums in the 2020 season. At the end of 2020 he left Redbull
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
for
Repsol Honda
Repsol Honda is the official factory team of the Honda Racing Corporation in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (World Championship road racing), backed by principal sponsor Repsol.
History 1990s
In the team entered a three r ...
.
Repsol Honda Team (2021–2022)
= 2021
=
![Pol Espargaro Silverstone 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Pol_Espargaro_Silverstone_2022.jpg)
Espargaró made his
Repsol Honda
Repsol Honda is the official factory team of the Honda Racing Corporation in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (World Championship road racing), backed by principal sponsor Repsol.
History 1990s
In the team entered a three r ...
debut at the
Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
The Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix ( ar, جائزة قطر الكبرى للدراجات النارية) is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
The Losail race track in Qatar represents the debut rac ...
, finishing 8th on the first of the two races and 12th on the latter. He took several points scoring finishes throughout the season, but the highlight was his 5th place finish from pole position at the
2021 British motorcycle Grand Prix. Espargaró ended the season 12th in the championship on 100 points.
= 2022
=
Espargaró started the 2022 season with a 3rd place finish at the
Qatar Grand Prix
The Qatar Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Losail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due to ...
. However, from then on, due to various factors both in and out of his control, Espargaró's performances have resulted in few, and low-points scoring finishes.
Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing (from 2023)
After initial uncertainty, Espargaró announced at the
Austrian Grand Prix
The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in .
History
The A ...
in August that he had signed a two-year deal with
Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing, to be known as GasGas Factory Racing team from the 2023 season onwards. His seat at Repsol Honda was allocated to 2020 World Champion
Joan Mir
Joan Mir Mayrata () (born 1 September 1997) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer riding for the Repsol Honda Team, who is best known for winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship with Suzuki. He is the fourth Spanish rider to win the prem ...
. The reported reason for this signing was Mir's younger age compared to that of Esparagaró.
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
By class
Races by year
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Suzuka 8 Hours results
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espargaro, Pol
1991 births
Living people
Spanish motorcycle racers
Motorcycle racers from Catalonia
125cc World Championship riders
Moto2 World Championship riders
KTM Factory Racing MotoGP riders
Tech3 MotoGP riders
People from Granollers
Sportspeople from the Province of Barcelona
MotoGP World Championship riders
Repsol Honda MotoGP riders
21st-century Spanish people