Pol Espargaro made his MotoGP return as a stand-in for Maverick Vinales at Tech3 during the Aragon Grand Prix, but his sprint race turned into a nightmare when he found himself behind Fabio Quartararo as the Yamaha's engine let go on the back straight.
The incident happened on lap five of the 11-lap sprint. Espargaro, who started from 20th on the grid, was fighting his way through the pack after a poor start and a crash involving Luca Marini ahead of him. That's when the engine of Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha suddenly blew, spewing smoke and debris in the middle of the straight.
"A lot of things happened," said the KTM rider. "My start was super bad. Then the crash of Marini in front - I lost the small gap I had. I lost a couple of positions. Then I went wide. Then Fabio blew the engine in the middle of the straight just in front of me, and I disappeared."
Espargaro, riding the KTM RC16, admitted he didn't know if he was still in the corner or already on the straight. He had to shut the throttle completely and even braked a little in the middle of the straight to avoid potential danger. "It was scary because you don't know what's next, if there is a rider in front," he added.
The incident cost Espargaro about three seconds in just three laps, and he lost the tow, leaving him to ride alone for the rest of the race. He eventually crossed the line in 17th place, 23.160 seconds behind the leader, while his KTM teammates Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini finished 15th and 14th respectively.
Despite the setback, Espargaro felt his pace wasn't bad. "Considering my teammates, they finished at 16 seconds, I think I would be about 20 without the problems. So, four seconds, three seconds off them, which is not really bad," he explained. However, he remained disappointed, saying, "I'm not pleased with this. I would like to follow them and be with them all race."
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