Pol Espargaró says goodbye to the team after crashing, like Marc Márquez, in the Valencia GP.
The first day of the last weekend of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship season, held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit race track (Cheste, Valencia), dawned accompanied by light gusts of wind that persisted throughout the day, although general conditions were stable. For Marc Márquez, it was not an easy day, as he suffered a small crash at turn 2 already during the first session. In the afternoon, he crashed a second time, this time at Turn 1. Uninjured in both incidents, the eight-time world champion finished the day in fourth position, with a best lap of 1'30.390 in Free Practice 2.
21 riders were within 0.8 seconds in the first free practice sessions in Cheste. Pol Espargaró was one of them, later improving his time in FP2. Ultimately, he finished the day in 18th position.
On Saturday, Marc, despite fighting a bad cold, once again showed his speed. Finishing Free Practice 3 in fifth place, the #93 felt he was close to his limit, but when the time came, both he and his Honda took another step forward. A very good time gave Marc second place on the grid for Sunday's race, 0.205 seconds off the pole. His time was also two tenths quicker than the one he set in Q2 2019 at Valencia, where he was second on the grid too.
On his part, Pol was not so lucky and ended the day knowing that the last race of the season and his last race with the Repsol Honda team would start the next day in 22nd position, after a crash in Q1. A promising free practice session 4, in which he finished in fourth place, showing the potential that he had.
Before falling, Marc Márquez had a great start of the race, staying firm within the leading group and preparing for the final laps. However, a crash at Turn 8 a couple of laps later ended the #93's hopes. Focusing on the positives of the weekend, Marquez proved again that he has speed, pace and consistency.
Like his teammate, Pol also fell. In this case, very early in the race, after recovering several positions. The #44 came out of the crash unscathed, but disappointed not to have been able to finish the year in a better way.
Now, the longest season in MotoGP history has come to an end, with 20 races around the world and more than 150 sessions. The season has not been easy at all for the Repsol Honda team, which has closed the year with just two podium finishes. However, now a new chapter begins and preparations for the 2023 season are already underway…
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