Pol Espargaro says it was “difficult to imagine” taking KTM to its maiden MotoGP rostrum in just its second year in the class, after finishing a shock third in a wet Valencia Grand Prix.
Espargaro was running in the podium battle when he crashed during the first race before the red flag, but rejoined initially and was able to make the restart.
Inheriting third when Yamaha's Valentino Rossi crashed from second late on, Espargaro navigated the tricky conditions to secure his and KTM's maiden rostrum appearance in MotoGP.
Espargaro admits it was “difficult” to see this result happening in any condition when he started at the back of the grid in Qatar last year, and praised the “unbelievable” progress the team made in development with the RC16 this year despite injury for himself and test rider Mika Kallio.
“Not for me at the beginning, maybe for Mr. [Stefan] Pierer at home and for Pit [Beirer], they are strong people and strong boys, and they know what they want,” Espargaro said when asked if he could ever imagine this result so soon.
“But for me was difficult to see this result and to imagine this result one day [so soon], even in dry or wet.
“We need to think that, this bike… it's been riding now for two years. And in Qatar last year we've been the last on the grid, one second from the guy in front.
“During the season for sure we've been blocked because I've been injured and also Mika has been injured, it was difficult to develop the bike with these conditions.
“It's been unbelievable progress, unbelievable development of this bike and I'm really proud of all these guys, not just the racing guys, in Mattighofen all the people around this project had put so much interest and effort in that.
“And this is more than just a third position, it's just motivation for everyone to face this future.”
Espargaro says the red flag was his “opportunity” to fight back after his “amazing” Turn 3 crash, but admits rebuilding his confidence was “difficult”.
“I make an amazing crash, so wild, big highside,” he said. “And the bike was losing the fairing, and I went from the last to seventh or eighth.
“It was wild. I don't know how I did it because I could not see much in the straight. The wind was huge, I had problems in my neck because I couldn't manage this speed without fairing, and then the red flag was like a message. I said to myself 'man, this is your opportunity, just take it'.
“In the second race I had new tyres, maybe I should continue with the medium front because I was struggling with the brakes and the first race I was really good on the brakes, but they were new, they were safe, and after the crash, to build up my confidence, this was difficult.”
