First pole for Honda ‘a huge step in my career’ - Espargaro

Pol Espargaro has claimed his and Honda’s first pole position of the 2021 MotoGP season at Silverstone. 

The Spanish rider had been in fantastic form all throughout practice before going on to set a 1:58.889s in Q2. 

It’s Espargaro’s first pole since the EuropeanGP in Valencia at the end of 2020, and one that based on his struggles with the RC213V thus far in 2021 looked very unlikely. 

Whether Espargaro achieved pole, a front row start, or even a second row start today, the 30 year-old said any of those scenarios would have been ‘a winning weekend’ considering previous rounds.

"I was just celebrating like I won the race. For me it’s more than that. Okay, tomorrow is the race and where the points are taken, but for me this is a huge step not just this year, but in my whole career," added Espargaro. 

"To take a pole position; even a first or second row was a winning weekend. After this tough start where I've been struggling so much, to start from the first place is like a big bubble of oxygen for all of us and especially for me as I was struggling a lot. 

"Sometimes the hard work didn’t pay off, but in this moment when you keep working even this can happen." 

Espargaro was eager to stay in the present moment and instead not think too much about Sunday’s race as ‘I haven’t been in this situation for a long time’. 

The former KTM man said: "Honestly speaking I don’t want to think about tomorrow so much. I’ve been struggling so much this year, suffering so much that I want to just live in the present right now.

"Right here having this time with my mechanics, my team; for sure they are working for tomorrow, but I just want to enjoy the moment. 

"Tomorrow is going to be a new day for sure. We are going to put all our effort into the race, but it’s time to enjoy it because I haven’t been in this situation for a long time and I think we deserve it after the hard work."