Repsol Honda sign Pol Espargaro for 2021-22

Honda Racing Corporation confirmed weeks of rumours when they announced on 13 July that Espargaro will join Repsol Honda on a two-year contract from 2021. The 29-year-old Spaniard will be team mate to Marc Marquez, who earlier this year signed a long-term contract that will keep him at the factory Honda team until the end of the 2024 season.

Espargaro comes into the factory Honda team at the expense of Marc Marquez’s younger brother, Alex, who will move to the LCR Honda satellite team for 2021-22, replacing Cal Crutchlow.

Espargaro started his grand prix racing career with Derbi in the 125cc World Championship in 2006, spending the next four years in the class, with a best championship placing of third in 2010 before stepping up to Moto2 in 2011.

In his third and final season in Moto2, Espargaro won the championship with Tuenti HP 40 Kalex before moving to MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech3 for 2014.

Despite never winning a race, or claiming a podium, during his time with Tech 3, Espargaro was a consistent finisher and placed inside the top ten in the championship during all three years of his time with the team.

Since moving to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2017, Espargaro has been the most consistent rider in KTM’s developing MotoGP campaign, with a best race placing of ninth in his first season. In 2018, Espargaro secured KTM’s first (and so far, only) MotoGP podium with a third-place finish at the Valencia GP. 

Unable to replicate that result in 2019, Espargaro nonetheless enjoyed several top ten race results, with a best of sixth at the French GP and a world championship placing of eleventh – his best since joining KTM.