RiderTua.com – Jorge Martin’s performance in qualifying seems more exciting than the Pramac Ducati rider’s performance in the sprint race at COTA Texas. With two crashes in as many minutes and an incredible attack to reach the second row of the grid, what happened to Martin and Marc Marquez reminded us of how chaotic qualifying has been in previous series?
Martin said, “Maybe a little too aggressive. Especially in the first lap, when I was 0.3 seconds faster in the first sector. But after the crash I felt comfortable and attacked again. But again, I was a little too aggressive in the long right corner “I was very lucky because if the fall had turned into a highside, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here now. When I changed to the second bike with a soft front tire, the limit was quickly reached and I had to be happy with 6th place.”
Jorge Martin believes he can duel against Vinales in Sunday’s race
In the 10 lap sprint race at COTA, Jorge Martin quickly shot ahead. Once he gets behind Pedro Acosta, he just maxes out on that line. The 26-year-old rider managed to overtake Acosta and then had to accept that it would be impossible to achieve a higher result than risky 3rd place if he overtook Marc.
Martin explained, “I started well, but I couldn’t get through the first few corners at ideal speed. It took me a while to catch the riders in front and with the feeling I had on the front of the bike, overtaking was difficult. Pedro was incredible on the brakes , the fighting maneuver was very strong. Although I was able to move away immediately afterwards, it was impossible to attack further So I decided to leave some energy reserves for tomorrow (Sunday’s race).”
Martin is confident that the Americas GP does not rule out fighting for victory. Franco Morbidelli‘s teammate revealed that it depends on the first few corners. If he could advance faster, anything was possible. In terms of coordination, he also assumed that tomorrow he would be in a better position in the long-distance race. Martin believes he can duel against Vinales if he manages to get close to him.
Before the US GP, the Pramac team still has work to do and the tire issue needs to be clarified. For example, in the first sprint of the season, today he still felt quite strong vibrations in the chassis. “If we can control this, as we did in the last race in Portugal, then much more is possible,” said Martinator.
The rider from Madrid, Spain, added, “And we still have to decide whether we will choose soft or medium tires. Both seem to work very well, but in comparison it seems to prefer medium. I think I can race well with both options.”
Martin also thanked his racing suit supplier Alpinestars, for the commendable materials. He did not suffer any injuries when he experienced a highside in the qualifying session (Q2) at a speed of around 200 km/h. The material worked perfectly and today I am grateful to be able to wear this leather,” concluded the leader of the standings, who is now 24 points ahead of Enea Bastianini who is ranked 2nd. BTW, Acosta is now ranked 6th in the standings, an extraordinary achievement in debut in MotoGP.
