Jorge Martin coming this weekend Italian GP as the first of us in the provisional of World championship. And there are names like Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Joan Mir, Alex Rins and Alex Márquez on that list, it means Martin is doing his homework. And he is doing well, because Jorge is only 14 points behind the leader, pecco bagnaia.
Victim in the past of his massive outbursts, the man from Madrid has ‘set his head in order’, learning to read the level of intensity that each moment requires. At least when he wears overalls, because according to his manager’s jokes… “Jorge is hyperactive, he always has to be doing something. When I need to talk to him, I tie him to the office chair or take him out to eat, wanting him at the table for a while.”
Your times are… Let’s say the word that best describes it is great.
yes diesel
That is! Much has been said about Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Binder… There you are, fourth in the provisional standings, only 14 points behind Pecco, leader of the championship. Was this a learned approach or did things just happen that way?
Right from the start I was one of the strongest, both in the preseason and in the GGPP we rode so far. In every race I fought there, except for the incident in Portimao and in Austin, I failed. But in others I became too strong. Maybe not as explosive after a lap, but working hard facing the pace, which is pretty much my weakest point.
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Sprint races are an easy format for you, right?
Yes, I think it is a point in favor, but regardless of the sprint format, in Jerez I finished fourth and fourth, in Le Mans I was first and second, and in Argentina the sprint was worse for me. .. In the end, if you are fast and make a good qualification, you can prepare well for both Saturday and Sunday.
At Le Mans you were strong as vinegar all weekend. Are you mad that the championship stopped for three weeks?
Well yes, it’s true. Since I am a driver who does better to do several races in a row, when there is a long break it is somehow difficult for me to get back into the rhythm. Usually, the end of the season suits me better because everything is tighter and you have confidence on the bike.
Will you continue to apply the ‘diesel’ strategy in three straight races or when you lower the helmet visor forget such a thing?
No, you don’t think so, at least not me. I’m trying to be more reflective, in the sense of understanding what my situation is. And if one day it is time to finish the race, it is over, or if one day it is time to use the sprint race to prepare for Sunday, then Saturday is sacrificed. Running head is important.
I think if I come to the middle of the season in the top four, five…the second part of the season is my strongest point.
You are 14 points behind Pecco Bagnaia, which has nothing.
Yes, there are many left. I think it’s not just the circuits at the end of the year that are better for me, but as I say, running weekend after weekend can work in my favor. I hope I can make a difference there.
Your team, Team Pramac, is by definition a satellite team of Ducati. A team that, at least in the past, Ducati used as the last link in its process of testing parts or ideas before integrating them into the factory team. Are you subject to this toll? In other words, at any given moment, can Ducati force you to try different things on your bike?
Yes, there are things they ask me to try, but Ducati gives me everything I want, swingarms, chassis, fairings.. For example, I decided to take the fairing I have, which is different from the riders’ choice factory equipment; They give me, say, broadband.
Perhaps, sometimes it didn’t evolve in the direction I wanted, but I can’t deny that I have a ‘full’ bike from the factory.
I mean looking more into the future. Can they, for example, force you to try things while you’re in contention for the championship?
No, I already have a base that I won’t touch. I have a motorcycle that I like. I like the engine, I’m still in the process of understanding the electronics… In the end they have been using the same engine for several years, while last year I had that engine that was different, which was chaos. Now I am adapting these electronics to understand what I need at the end of the race, but it seems we are on the right track.
Is your reference different now?
Yes absolutely. This is where I look to improve, especially in braking, which is the point where I suffered the most last year. I don’t look at telemetry from other pilots besides him. Although I also don’t want to focus too much on Pecco, because otherwise I’ll be riding like him, and I won’t lose my energy. But yes, Pecco is clearly the braking benchmark for all Ducati riders.
It’s incredible, last year there were times when I reached 30 meters under braking. There were brakes where I braked later… I was there.
Why did this difference arise? Is it because of his technique? Was it because he ultimately sacrificed the remaining maneuver?
His style. He sacrificed the second part, bringing the braking to the point of blocking the front wheel, on the verge of crashing in the curve. To give you an idea, we had some overall time analysis on the track, and I lost half a second under braking, but at the end of the lap the times were the same. I made up for it with traction and cornering. Obviously braking is a point I make. If I can reduce the braking difference without losing my strong points, well…
Your strength, what is…?
Cornering and acceleration.
This weekend he competes in Mugello. It’s not exactly a circuit that you’ve been good at in MotoGP. 13th last year, the previous year you didn’t start because you were recovering from the fall, if I remember correctly.
Mugello… terrible, terrible… I’d rather have won Moto3 there… Last year the engine didn’t help me. I think that was the moment when we were most lost with the set-up of the bike. I haven’t seen a bike base that worked as far as Silverstone or Austria. It’s a low, short bike, which is not my style. I need a motorcycle with confidence up front; it is impossible to go fast on that bike. I don’t trust the bike. He was almost a second off the pace.
We have already discussed that the new format is easy to use, but in talking with Bagnaia, he told me that the riders are asking that P1 does not count for Q, to have more time to work on bike without thinking about doing a quick lap.
Exactly, we want to have a little time to work, but if you think about it, in P1, in cold temperatures, you can’t work for the race either. In the end I don’t think anything will change and I don’t think things will either… In safety [reunión de pilotos que se celebra cada viernes por la tarde en los fines de semana de GP] Many things are discussed and in the end we end up with nothing.
Let’s talk about overtaking, or rather not overtaking. But the truth is, as we have seen, there is.
Maybe he wasn’t first on circuits like Jerez, but he wasn’t first either, that’s why there were situations like Valentino and Sete in the last corner. I believe the situation has developed because we have all reached a very high level. We all accelerate well, we all brake late, we all corner…
There is so much equality that you have to go to the limit to catch up. The wings have an effect because when you are behind a rider trying to overtake, the bike moves a lot, but I think the difficulty comes from the equality that currently exists in the category.
But with the cards you have, you have to learn to play them.
In the end you have to take advantage of the first laps, which is what we do; take chances in qualifying to position yourself as far as possible, which is 80% of the race, and little else.
Do you see Marc still having options?
There are many left. If now with the Kalex chassis, which they say is better… at Le Mans he made a wagon. It was good to fight him. The speed he set was very high. He shot at .31, which I didn’t even touch because I’m pretty regular. As for the speed, he has it, and if he’s physically fit, he said… He still has a long way to go! We will all fail, you saw Pecco, then Bezzecchi behind Jerez, we will all fail.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
