KTM test rider Pol Espargaro made his third MotoGP appearance of the season, replacing the injured Maverick Vinales in Australia last weekend, maintaining his streak of consecutive Grand Prix top 10s.
Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon said: “Pol Espargaro has done a great job with us so far. If there was one, we would give him the award for fastest test rider of the season!”
Strictly speaking, Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami’s 6th place in the wet race at Le Mans was the best run by a wildcard/substitute in 2025.
However, Espargaro achieved all of his results in the dry this season, scoring more points than any other test rider.
Phillip Island is unfamiliar territory, but this weekend’s Sepang round will also serve as a pre-season testing ground.
“Sepang is a track where I have spent a lot of time and done many laps, so I know the circuit very well,” Espargaro admitted. “However, the temperature is very high and the humidity is high, so it is physically very difficult.
“Anyway, after a good weekend in Australia, I’m looking forward to another full race weekend with the team, looking to help everyone and gather important information for the factory heading into the off-season.”
The Spaniard, whose best result in Malaysian MotoGP was sixth place from Yamaha in 2014, also highlighted that Aprilia has emerged as the strongest machine in recent events.
“Our package should work well in Malaysia as well, so let’s be competitive and see if we can take on Aprilia, because Aprilia has been doing great lately,” Espargaro said.
Espargaro finished the Phillip Island GP in first place behind Tech3’s full-time rider and 2023 Sepang winner Enea Bastianini (Ducati).
Goyon hopes the test data will help revive Bastianini’s fortunes, which, coincidentally or not, have struggled since the departure of crew chief Alberto Giribuola.
“We expect it to be an interesting weekend for Enea Bastianini, because this is a track that he enjoys and he won there again in 2023,” said Goyon.
“I think it will be a big help for him because it will be the first time he will race at a track where he already has data with KTM.
“He’s here after a solid race at Phillip Island, so I hope he can keep this momentum going and get back close to the top five.”
“We arrive in Malaysia and this is a track that we have been referring to since pre-season with KTM, so that is already a positive thing,” Bastianini admitted.
“But a lot of things have changed since February, the bike is completely different and the way I adapted to the KTM and the way I ride it has also changed.
“I have had a good race in Australia so I think I can be competitive in Malaysia this week and get close to my rivals.”