KTM confirms third MotoGP wild-card for Pol Espargaro

Pol Espargaro will take part in his third MotoGP wild-card of the season during next weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.

Fellow KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa took the RC16 to the brink of the Misano podium a year ago, with a pair of fourth places on the debut of the factory’s carbon fibre chassis.

Pedrosa was back in race action for KTM’s first wild-card of this year at Jerez, claiming third in the damp Sprint race. Espargaro then took over the prototype RC16 for appearances at Mugello and Austria.

Espargaro, who stepped back from full-time racing at the end of last season to make way for Pedro Acosta, has previously finished on the Misano MotoGP podium for KTM (2020) and Repsol Honda (2021).

“Mugello meant we could come back to MotoGP speed and then we felt much more competitive at Red Bull Ring where we had made a lot of testing laps,” said Espargaro, who was challenging the fastest RC16 riders in practice and qualifying on his way to 9-11 race finishes.

“Misano is another familiar circuit and I’m happy to get back onto the grid after the work we made at Austria.

“We need to reconfirm some data in race conditions and also do what we can to help the guys – Brad and Jack – with their settings for the two GPs we have there.”

KTM’s C concession ranking means Espargaro can run a different engine configuration to the full-time race riders. His RC16 also sported different aero, exhausts and chassis parts in Austria.

The C concessions - also available to Aprilia - allow up to six wild-card opportunities per season. KTM will still have two left, should they choose to use them, after Misano.

An official post-race test will be held on the Monday after the San Marino GP, with MotoGP then returning two weeks later for a second ‘Emilia Romagna’ round, in place of the cancelled India/Kazakhstan event.