Pol Espargaro says he is “super proud” of KTM's current MotoGP form, after finishing the Americas Grand Prix just 29 seconds from the win in eighth.
Espargaro qualified the KTM a career-best of fifth for the Austrian marque, and fended off the Pramac Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia to finish the race eighth to move into ninth in the standings.
The KTM rider was 16s quicker than he was in the 2018 edition of the Circuit of the Americas race, in which he finished 13th, and maintains his run of top 12 results this season.
“Excited” about KTM's work ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix next month, Espargaro feels he has “everything I need to keep pushing”.
“I'm excited about what the guys are trying in the factory,” Espargaro said to motogp.com.
“I'm super proud when I look at the results from last year or two years ago, and what we are able to do now and what we are achieving.
“It also feels like the people in the paddock are also seeing our work. I have everything I need to keep pushing.”
He added: “We take these first races out [of the equation], they're always difficult for us, and we go now to Jerez with some improvements on the bike.
“It's all very positive for the future. Normally Jerez is better for us. It's not good to talk too much beforehand because when you get to a GP, everything can change.
“We are quite positive though, after what we have done.”
Commenting on his race, Espargaro says it went as “expected”, and only faded in the latter stages due to tyre wear.
“It was the race I expected. We were starting from fifth, but we had to be realistic,” he continued.
“I knew my fight would be with maybe the Petronas Yamaha guys [Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo] or the satellite Ducatis.
“We were there in the pack, we had a good rhythm, only dropping at the end because of the tyres.
“Always in this track, with the bumps especially, it's so demanding for the bikes and for the riders.
“We were 16s quicker this year than last year. So, wow, that's pretty fast. We are ninth in the championship, we overtook Aprilia [in the manufacturers' standings]."
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