Pol Espargaro Does Not Have A Retirement Plan From MotoGP, And Is Ready To Race For 5 More Years

Pol Espargaro (Instagram @polespargaro)

JAKARTA - Repsol Honda racer Pol Espargaro has no plans to retire from MotoGP in the near future. The Spanish rider even has plans to maintain his career in the most elite motorcycle racing competition for the next five years.

Espargaro is now 30 years old, so he is already at the peak of his career. However, he still wants to stay in the elite race even if it's not like Valentino Rossi, who just retired at the age of 42.

"We see sportsmen, like in football, who extend their careers, or Valentino (Rossi) who at 40 is still competitive. Valentino is unique, I don't want to compare myself to him, but I want to extend my sports career for five years. Another year at a high level," said Espargaro.

Espargaro is under contract with Repsol Honda until the end of this season. However, he has not yet received a new contract offer from the team that also houses world champion, Marc Marquez.

This situation makes the future of the Granollers-born racer a matter of speculation. Moreover, Honda is said to be bringing in French racer Fabio Quartararo, who is still reluctant to sign a new contract with Yamaha.

Although he has not signed a new contract with Honda, Espargaro admits he doesn't want to bother. He said he had eaten salt in similar situations during his more than decade-long career in the most prestigious of the races.

"I have been in the World Championship for fifteen years and I have been in this situation many times. In MotoGP, this happens every two years, in official teams, but in Moto3 and Moto2, every year you have to renew the contract. I've been through a lot of situations," he said.

Espargaro is one of the big names in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship. He had an excellent pre-season and finished third on the podium in the opening race in Qatar in early March before failing in the next three races.

Currently, Espargaro has only collected 23 points from four series of races that have been held. He sits in 11th position in the standings or 38 points adrift of Ducati rider Enea Bastianini who occupies the top position.