At Jerez, Espargaro was frustrated to have finished half a minute down on Yamaha factory rider Valentino Rossi - and called on the Japanese marque to do more for its only satellite team Tech 3.

However, Poncharal does not agree with his rider's assessment of the situation at hand.

"Every Tech 3 rider has a Tech 3 engineer but also an engineer from Japan, and the four Yamahas share their data: if Lorenzo's, Rossi's or [Bradley] Smith's team finds something magical on electronics, Pol Espargaro knows about it," Poncharal explained to Motorsport.com.

"I can't let anyone say [what Espargaro said], it's not fair towards Yamaha and the people who work around our riders.

"A few years ago, when he was here, Cal Crutchlow said, looking at Lorenzo's data: 'Give me Lorenzo's bike, I won't do better than how I'm doing now. And give he mine, he'll do as well as he's doing now.'

"Out of fairness for [Yamaha's] efforts and the support they bring to Tech3 and its riders, we're sometimes a little bit fed up with always hearing the same thing."

Poncharal also suggested that his teams' bikes have never been closer to the factory machines than they are in 2016.

"One thing is sure, we've never had a bike so close to Rossi's and Lorenzo's: the engines are frozen, so we have the same; we have the same electronics as the rest of the field; the tyres are the same for everyone and are allocated at random.

"There might be a slight difference on a chassis, they might have a little edge with suspensions, and they've had wings before we did, and a bit different ones.

"But these still are little details, and when you see the gap at the end of the race between Rossi/Lorenzo and Espargaro/Smith, you think it's not just the bike. That's also the beauty of our sport: not everything is technical."

Explaining Smith's struggles

Of the Tech 3 duo, Bradley Smith finished well ahead of Espargaro in 2015 - but it's the Spaniard who has so far had the upper hand this year, and comfortably so.

Trying to explain Smith struggling for speed in the early races of 2016, Poncharal suggested that the Briton's KTM contract for 2017 could be playing a part.

He said: "Pol is doing better, he's more comfortable with the Michelins while Bradley scrabbles. He's trying to find a setup which, in my opinion, doesn't exist, in order to get back the feeling he had last year. For now, it has not borne much fruit, which is not easy for him.

"He's not in a confident phase, currently. He has not forgotten how to ride, that's for sure, but he has doubts about many things.

"Besides, he has committed to KTM, he has signed a two-year contract, which he has announced before the first race. The thing is - many riders perform when they are under pressure. The incentive of thinking 'I need to give it all and get great results to get a new contract' works.

"In the last two years, Bradley never had a contract for the following year. I think that [the KTM contract] allows him to have a certain comfort in his mind, he might feel less pressured. Now, maybe his teammate is the one who might be super motivated to perform in order to have as many options as possible for 2017, as nothing's clear about his future.

"I'm not saying this is the core of the problem, but it's part of it. The number one explanation is these new electronics, not as efficient as those Yamaha had until now, and those tyres - which are different in the way they deliver their potential.

"But maybe he would feel even more pressured to find a solution and he would be even more eager to fight if he didn't have a contract for 2017. That's my analysis, which may not be accurate."

Interview by Lena Buffa

Translation by Benjamin Vinel