Pol Espargaro ‘in a different position’ to Pedrosa with Mugello wild-card

Pol Espargaro will return to competitive MotoGP action for the first time since last year’s Valencia finale with a wild-card appearance at Mugello this weekend.

The Spaniard, who took eight podiums during his full time premier-class career, switched to test-riding duties to make room for rookie star Pedro Acosta.

The change also allowed Espargaro much-needed healing time after last year’s extensive Portimao injuries.

Espargaro’s return follows hot on the heels of fellow KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa’s latest wild-card outing at Jerez in late April, when he finished third in the Sprint.

But Espargaro highlighted that Pedrosa’s situation was different, Jerez being one of KTM’s chosen testing tracks, whereas the factory has had no prior 2024 laps at Mugello.

As such, one of Espargaro’s main tasks is to prepare the latest RC16 parts for Monday’s official test with the factory race riders.

“Mugello is a tricky place, we know how tough and technical it is and I didn’t race since last year in Valencia, more than six months,” Espargaro told MotoGP.com on Thursday.

“Plus, we don't have this place as a test track.

“I want to perform well, but the most important thing is to be productive for the team and give them some good information for the guys on Monday.”

Quizzed on the comparison with Pedrosa, who also battled for MotoGP podiums at Jerez and Misano last season, Espargaro replied:

“Dani was thinking maybe on performing a little bit more than testing. Also he has been racing in places that we have as test tracks - Jerez or Misano - so he was able to perform in a pretty good way. And we know how talented Dani is.

“We are in a different position. We don't test here. So we don't have information but we need that information for the guys on Monday. So that's why we've come here.

“For sure we want to perform well but it's not our priority.

“I know that in the tests I'm not bad at all, but you need time on the bike because these guys come straight from Barcelona and are going to be up to speed so quickly on Friday.

“But as I said, our main target is to deliver good information and to help the guys to perform in the Monday test."

Espargaro missed last year's Italian MotoGP due to his Portimao injuries.