Pol Espargaro debuted in the 125 World Championship in 2006 in seven races alongside winning the Spanish national crown in the same year. Rookie of the Year in his first full World Championship campaign, 2009 then saw Espargaro take his first win. Moving up to the Moto2™ World Championship in 2011 after a title challenge in the lightweight class the year before, the Spaniard took the intermediate class crown in 2013 before moving up to MotoGP™.
Rookie of the Year once again, 2015 was then tougher with some DNFs, before 2016 saw Espargaro just miss out on the title of top Independent Team rider to Cal Crutchlow. The Granollers native moved to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2017, and was the team’s top rider in their first season – including some entries into Q2 and solid top ten results. In 2018, Espargaro was often the fastest Austrian machine once again but the Spaniard suffered some big injury struggles mid-season that curtailed progress. After a difficult year, some light appeared at the end of the tunnel in Valencia as Espargaro took KTM's first podium in MotoGP™ with an impressive ride in difficult conditions. In 2019, Espargaro stayed in orange and although there was no repeat podium success, the number 44 was KTM’s shining light. A wrist fracture in Aragon didn’t stop Espargaro from reaching the 100-point tally, with a dry-race P6 in Le Mans his best result. KTM proved the surprise package of 2020 and Pol Espargaro was at the very heart of it, as five podium finishes throughout the season, as well two pole positions for the first time in his career, helped him to 5th in the Championship.
A move to Repsol Honda for 2021 was the talk of the paddock ahead of the season, and Espargaro quickly learned why the RC213V was regarded as the fiercest bike on the grid. A pole at Silverstone and a first podium for the Japanese factory in Misano were key moments in a tough twelve months. 2022 looked to be a different story when he finished third at the opening round of the year in Qatar. But he finished inside the top ten just once after that in a miserable year. Espargaro was hoping a change to KTM machinery would bring a change of fortunes in 2023, but a big crash during the opening round saw him out of action until after the summer break. No top 10s followed, as he lost his seat for 2024, though secured a job as a KTM Test Rider.