English
Italiano
Jorge Martin is hungry for redemption after the crash in Indonesia, which deprived him of the world championship leadership and he demonstrated it by immediately going on the attack on the first day of practice for the Australian GP. First in the morning, the Spaniard from the Pramac team ended the day in fourth position, making himself one of the favourites on the Phillip Island track.
“I think I was very strong today, more than the ranking reflects” said Martin, taking stock of his Friday: “I was fast since the morning, then obviously I put on the tyre to set the time, but I was the fastest with the mediums used. I continued with those tyres in the afternoon too. I was also very competitive with the soft tyre on the rear, but then I was even faster with the medium one, so it will be difficult to decide which tyre to use on the rear. I completed many laps with those tyres, even with the front I made up to 27 laps, always lapping in 1'29. I was really strong and I was also very competitive in the time attack. In the second attempt I was setting the record, but I encountered some traffic and chaos on the track. I hope to do it tomorrow, because starting from the front will be extremely important."
What makes the Madrid native's Friday even more encouraging are the difficulties encountered by championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, excluded from the Top 10 and forced to face Q1 for the second time in a row.
“Well, it's clear that if he didn't get directly into Q2 it's because he has problems, but we know that this has already happened to him other times in the past and he managed to come out of worse situations. So, I expect him to do it again tomorrow,” commented Jorge.
The Ducati rider is aware of the strength and capabilities of his opponent, which is why what gives Martin hope is not the difficulties of the reigning champion, but the way in which he managed to respond to the mistake in Mandalika.
“I think it's not important that Pecco didn't get into Q1. What you want after a difficult weekend is to be quick on the next track and we were. I'm happy and I have confidence in the fact that we can be fast" declared the Spanish rider, who will try to sort out the final details in view of tomorrow: "I'm still struggling a bit to overtake, I don't know why but I'm a little bit in difficulty in turns 4 and 10. In any case, I hope to be able to improve these weak points tomorrow."
Saturday at Phillip Island will be as important as ever, given that the organizers of the Grand Prix have decided to bring forward the long race to tomorrow, due to the weather conditions forecast for Sunday.
“Whatever comes, will be fine. I have an even faster pace than last season and I'm ready for the race. I hope we can race on Sunday, but it will depend on the conditions - commented Martinator, who has no plans to make major changes to his Desmosedici for the Sprint race, despite the conditions: "We used the same fairing for the entire last part of the season and I don't think we'll change it. We will just make some changes to the set-up."
What he hopes will change, however, is the asphalt of Phillip Island for 2024, given that the track was not in perfect condition for this edition of the GP.
“I don't know why, but there are many bumps compared to last season, especially in turns 2, 4, 8 and the last - concluded Jorge - I think they will have to intervene for next year, but at the moment the situation is the same for everyone. We just have to understand what the track is like and try to adapt."
