P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Pol Espargaro hopes KTM can “battle against Aprilia” at Sepang after another top-ten performance earned him praise as MotoGP’s “fastest test rider.”
KTM test rider Pol Espargaro continued his top ten streak during the MotoGP event in Australia, filling in for the injured Maverick Vinales for the third time this season.
Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon praised Espargaro’s performance, stating he deserves the title of the fastest test rider this season.
While Takaaki Nakagami’s sixth place in Le Mans’ wet race remains the top wild-card/replacement performance in 2025, Espargaro has excelled in dry conditions, outscoring other test riders.
As the Sepang round approaches, Espargaro looks forward to contributing to his team and gathering valuable data for the factory team during pre-season testing at a familiar circuit.
Espargaro aims to compete with the strong-performing Aprilia and build on the success from the previous race weekend in Australia, where he finished just behind Enea Bastianini.
Tech3 hopes that the testing data from Sepang will help revive Bastianini’s performance, especially after a solid race in Phillip Island, setting the stage for a potential comeback close to the top 5.
