Source: Supplied.

Red Bull KTM teammates Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith slotted their RC16s into positions 15th and 16th on the MotoGP grid at Jerez on Saturday in another sign of progress for the Austrian newcomers.

Espargaro has been significantly impressive throughout the Spanish grand prix weekend, 10th on Friday and then qualifying just over a second from Dan Pedrosa’s pole time.

“All the team is doing such a big effort but I want to remember the guys back in the factory who are not on TV, working hard behind the scenes,” Espargaro said. “What we are doing is thanks to them as factory and race team work so hard together to get a result that some people thought would not happen.

“In FP4 we were ninth, run at the same time of day as the race, but my time was done with a tyre that was not so new, so I think this time is quite good for a longer run, but the effort and the things the team is doing is unbelievable.”

KTM MotoGP technical director Sebastian Risse commented: “We’ve had a very exciting weekend with big technical steps being taken quickly after a very short testing period. Sure, this brings risk into a race weekend, but it worked out very well indeed.

“I think we can be very happy about where we are after this qualifying result – we could see the potential of the riders and the bike throughout the whole weekend. It is an important step forward. Now let’s prove this in the race and see what is the next step forward.”