Marc Marquez won the battle for the coveted Ducati team handlebars over Jorge Martin, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the better rider, at least according to Pol Espargaró. The KTM test rider, who was present at this year’s Italian Grand Prix, shared his thoughts on the ‘Por Orejas’ podcast, hinting that the definition of ‘best rider’ may be more nuanced than it is it seems.
« To say that Jorge Martin is better or worse than Marquez because Marc has an older bike is very difficult. We often talk about the best in terms of titles won, and not because he is intrinsically the best driver “, said Espargaropointing out the complexity of this evaluation.
Espargaro then illustrated his remarks with concrete examples of drivers in difficulty this year. “
Maybe you take Bagnaia and you put him on a KTM, and he starts winning. Or as happened with Jack Millerwho no longer wins while he used to win with the Ducati. Or you take
Luke Mariniwho was on the podium with the Ducati, you put him on a Honda, and he is last in every race and sprint of the season. Is that Marini
is a worse driver this year? I do not think so. »
Pol Espargaro: « We must be careful with this notion of “best driver” »
The case d’Alex
Rinsanother rider who won MotoGP, did not escape the analysis of the 44. Is Alex Rins a worse rider now that he was winning with Suzuki?
I do not think so. So it is very difficult to know if a driver is better or worse. »
Pour Espargarostating on motorcyclesports that a rider is the best must be done with caution. Whether he earns more, has more titles, is better in the media, is better commercially, I agree. But best driver, you have to be careful with that. »
So, according to Pol Espargaro, the question of who is the best driver goes beyond just titles and victories. It involves deeper thinking about drivers’ intrinsic skills, performance under different conditions and versatility.
