MotoGP | Martin convinced: “It will be a duel between me and Bagnaia”

The duel between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia is a battle of nerves that is fought on a very thin line. With just 3 points separating them, the values ​​can change continuously. Not only from one race to the next, but also within the same weekend. In Austria, it was the reigning world champion who had a better start, finishing Friday ahead of everyone after setting a new record at the Red Bull Ring.

“Martinator” instead had a less brilliant start than usual, but over the course of the day he managed to patch things up and improve a feeling that initially wasn’t optimal with his Ducati. Even though he ended up third, with his teammate Franco Morbidelli also separating him from his rival, he seems to see the glass half full.

“The feeling is good, even though I had to work more than usual. I had to do a lot of testing, especially on the set-up. Even though I was going fast in the morning, this track is a bit strange and I realized that the base of my bike was not good enough to be consistent. In the afternoon we made several changes. One didn’t work well for me, another worked better,” Martin said.

“We have to continue in this direction. The positive thing is that I was competitive and consistent. I also tried all the tyres, which I think was important in the heat. Overall I’m happy, fit and with a good feeling, which is what I was looking for,” he added.

Regarding the recent turnaround, which sees Bagnaia starting the weekend better than he has lately, he added: “On Fridays I have always felt good. Pecco suffered a bit more before, but now he has been able to stay in front since day one. On Fridays, however, I work on the soft tyre, to understand its potential for the Sprint. Today I managed to do 20 laps, so it’s good like this”.

From how things went today, he seems quite convinced that this race could still be a battle between him and Pecco: “From what I saw today, we are still in a duel between two with Pecco. Today I saw Bastianini suffering again, he is not keeping up with our pace. I think that to be able to fight for a World Championship, you have to be almost with the fastest riders in every race, to be able to work for Sunday”.

Finally, on the many crashes that were seen today, he concluded: “I think the accidents happen because this is a particular track. It’s strange, with a lot of hard braking and a long time without turning left.”