Pol Espargaró is once again replacing Maverick Viñales: the wait is getting longer

Pol Espargaró will continue to race with Tech3 at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix (September 18–20), replacing Maverick Viñales at the Red Bull Ring. As KTM’s official test rider and reserve rider, Espargaró will once again take his place on the MotoGP grid, aiming to fly the orange flag high in front of the Austrian crowd. This will mark his fourth consecutive appearance with the team this season.

Espargaró delivered an excellent qualifying performance at the previous round in San Marino, a clear sign of the progress he has made since returning to the Tech3 garage. After replacing Viñales at Silverstone, Aragón, and Misano, the Spaniard arrives at KTM’s home race with a significant number of race kilometers under his belt. Meanwhile, Tech3 remains confident that Viñales will regain his form and return when the championship moves overseas to Japan.

Espargaró’s journey at this stage of the season began at Silverstone, where the Spaniard finished the main race in 13th place upon his return to MotoGP. From there, his progress has been steady and measurable: at Aragón, he started from 20th on the grid, while at Misano he took another step forward, qualifying directly for Q2 in Friday’s pre-qualifying session with the ninth-fastest time overall, and then finishing Saturday’s qualifying in twelfth place, 1.198 milliseconds behind Marco Bezzecchi on pole.

The decision to retain Espargaró had already been made official at the Aragon Grand Prix, when team manager Nicolas Goyon explained the reasoning behind the choice: “Together with Maverick and KTM, we decided that Pol will continue with us at Aragón, thus allowing Maverick to focus on his recovery. Pol did a solid job for the team at Silverstone, and his experience means he’s in the ideal position to return to the track this weekend as well.” Goyon also emphasized that Viñales’s health remained the top priority: “The most important thing for us is that Maverick takes all the time he needs to recover properly.”