Anyone expecting an official Ducati on pole at Lusail will have been disappointed. In fact, the first row of the starting grid will see two Desmosedici in the first and second box: those of Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini.
The Pramac team rider was the great protagonist of Saturday in Qatar thanks to a perfect lap that gave him the fifth pole of his career.
Jorge extracted the maximum potential, managing to set record sectors in both T1, T2 and T3 and then made the most of the wake of Pol Espargaro’s Honda to cross the finish line stopping the clock at a time of 1’53 ” 011 .
At the end of the session Martin expressed all his satisfaction with a pole obtained thanks also to a great strategy.
“I’m happy, I did a great lap. I didn’t expect to be on pole even though I knew that with the new tire I would have something more. Besides, I also had Pol in front of me. All the pieces have fallen into place. We have adopted a great strategy ”.
Despite the happiness for what he achieved today, the Pramac team driver did not appear fully satisfied. Martin, in fact, admitted that he is not yet at 100% with the set-up for the race and that he is suffering with the grip.
“Tomorrow will be a difficult race and I think many of us will be able to fight for the podium. I am not confident. I hope to be able to take a step forward with the set-up and the electronics to be able to struggle less in the final race. It was a bit of a strange weekend than usual. Some runs went well, others not. There was a lack of consistency. We are trying a lot of setups to improve grip and we suffer in some points ”.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: MotoGP
“Even if in FP3 I managed to cover 23 laps without suffering particularly with the front, we still lack something. I have problems with grip, but I hope to be able to improve in view of the race ”.
The first poleman of the year then explained how he is not yet sure about the choice of tires for tomorrow. The doubt for Martin is between the soft and medium compound.
“It will be important to decide on the right rear tire. I feel comfortable with both the soft and the medium, with both I’m doing well, but the Suzuki riders have made a big step forward as have Marc Márquez and Enea Bastianini ”.
“I’m still not sure which tires I will use, both compounds work well. The soft lasts 15 laps, while the medium is more stable but less fast. We will have to see which one we use to get to the end of the race.”
On a day in which the Suzukis were sensationally lacking, Martin underlined how the engine of his Ducati satisfied him even if there are some small adjustments to be made.
“I’m happy with my engine. I’m on pole and this means we have great potential, but we still lack something in acceleration and I’m not very comfortable because at the moment it’s still difficult to manage the tire. In any case, I think the potential is there and I’m happy. I will give my best with the package at my disposal “.
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