KTM’sౠ desire to reward Moto2 sensation Pedro Acosta with a promotion to the premier class created a problem - how would they f♏it five riders onto four bikes?

After a bid to༒ run a fifth bike was rejected by Dorna, KTM selected veteran rider Espar🧸garo as the man to miss out on a 2024 seat.

Acosta will inherit his Tech3 GASGAS ride.

Espargaro will instead take up ﷺas a role as test and reserve rider, and compete with wi🍌ldcards.

Eꦏspargaro said to : "What is justice in our sport? 

“Because there is a rider who beats the rest, but you don't know if it is bec♌ause of his talent or because he hasꦍ the best bike. 

“And if you don't have th🍨at bike, most of th🍃e time you are not able to win.

"At the moment I am in, and seeing that the factory wants to evolve with young talents like P﷽edro Acosta... 100% this situation could have been avoided. 

“It has been an absolute managemဣent erroꦿr on the part of KTM. 

“And I feel bad because I don't like to criticise the factory I work for, the one that pays ꦜme, the one that takes care of me.

"But in this aspect, we have ta꧋lked a𓆏bout it many times, they still have many shortcomings in terms of contracts or rider management. 

“And this has been one of them. 

“You cannot sign or have a rider with options to go up to MotoGP - it꧂ was also quite obvious that Pedro could have this path - and have other riders signed.

"Or have a rider with 🃏a 1+1 year contract and renew it. 

“Y🎶ou are going to find yourself with this situation.

“I am not saying that it is fair or unfair that Augusto Fernandez or I would have left, that Pedro would have stayed in Moto2, but in any ca🐻se, the managem🐽ent has been very bad, very bad…”

'I was not able to bear the pain'

Espargaro’s first season with the Tech3 GASGAS team was ruined on the opening weekend in Por🧔timao when he suffered a terrible crash.

Major lung, back and jaw in🐲juries resulte🎀d in a lengthy lay-off of seven full rounds.

"Yes, this has been the worst injury I have had in my spor✱ts cꦺareer,” he reflected. 

“B💛ecause perha🍎ps all the ones I have had have been small injuries that with a month of recovery you were already ready to compete again.

"And then going home and not being able to [pick up] my daughters, such a simple thing, spending four weeks without being able to eat... “It's very traumatic. More than the pain, because I cꦆouldn't sleep for a month and a half, it's because of the trauma of the whole situation, of everything I have had to do and I have never had to go through so much pa👍in.

"If you now give me 10% of the pain that I went through any night of the first month a💃nd a half... I called the MotoGP doctor to admit me again because I was not able to bear the pain.”