Pol Espargaro to lead GASGAS MotoGP assault in 2023

The latest round of the MotoGP season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria was anything but a routine affair, with two major announcements dominating the headlines: the addition of a Saturday ‘sprint’ race in 2023 and the injection of GASGAS into the roster.

GASGAS and the French-based Tech3 will team up to become the GASGAS Factory Racing Team in 2023, with 31-year-old Spaniard Pol Espargaro confirmed as one of the riders.

Aussie Remy Gardner is an incumbent in the current Tech 3 KTM outfit, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely he will be retained in 2023 under the new GASGAS collaboration.

GASGAS, which was founded in 1985 as a moto trials manufacturer before adding enduro bikes to its arsenal four years later, was purchased by KTM parent’s company Pierer Mobility AG in 1989. Husqvarna is also a part of the burgeoning group.

“To be a full factory GASGAS team is a big source of pride. There is a lot I touch in the GASGAS name, we know where they came from, I’m from the south or Europe, and I feel very honoured, very proud, and I feel there will be more emulation inside the Pierer Mobility Group in the MotoGP class, in between the orange and the red brand,” said Herve Poncharal, GASGAS Team Manager.

“I love challenges and I’m very happy to be part of this new one.”

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The distinctive red and white livery of GASGAS will make it six different marques on the 2023 MotoGP grid – effectively replacing the departing Suzuki factory team. However, GASGAS is no stranger to grand prix racing, with the GASGAS Aspar team a huge presence in the Moto3 and Moto2 titles.

Meanwhile, Espargaro will be returning to Tech3, the team which first signed him to MotoGP in 2014 after he won the Moto2 world title the year before.

Espargaro remained with the then Yamaha-backed Tech3 for three years before leaving to spearhead KTM’s debut MotoGP season in 2017. His most successful year on the orange machinery was 2020 when he finished on the podium five times without nailing an elusive maiden MotoGP victory.

“We had a great few years together when we started, we discovered the MotoGP class together, and I have always said that Pol is a real fighter, Pol was a key player in the Pierer Mobility KTM MotoGP program,” continued Poncharal. “We can’t wait to start working with him, and I think he will be a perfect ambassador for the GASGAS brand.”

The first outing for the GASGAS Factory Racing Team will be the 2022 post-season test at Valencia, which unlike past years will only be a one-day affair.