MotoGP | Martin: “I could go faster, but the tires can't handle it”

First in the sprint, third in the long race on Sunday. Jorge Martin leaves the weekend in Qatar both with more certainty about the potential of the 2024 Ducati package, but also with some remorse, because he feels that at the moment he cannot fully exploit what the bike could offer.

After the pole achieved on Saturday and the victory in the sprint race, there was great attention surrounding the Spaniard in view of the race. Although Francesco Bagnaia showed top-level pace during the tests, there was great curiosity around a possible revival of the duel between the Italian and the Spaniard, without forgetting the inclusion of the KTMs. Compared to the pre-season tests, the track conditions have changed considerably, adding an extra unknown.

But if the Pramac rider was able to impose himself in the sprint, he was not as effective in the Grand Prix, the same one where his dreams of winning the world championship came to a standstill last year. A theme also reiterated by Martin himself, who also explained part of the reasons why he was unable to replicate the same result as yesterday, for which there are reasons linked both to the bike and to the strategy adopted.

Although he was able to maintain first position at the start, thanks to an excellent sprint when the traffic lights went out, a few moments later Martin was overtaken by Bagnaia, who thus achieved his first success of 2024. In fact, taking advantage the duels between the Spaniard and Brad Binder with the KTM, the Italian of the Ducati was able to extend and take off, until he built that minimum safety margin which then allowed him to manage the race alone until the flag chess.

Precisely this “submissiveness” of his at the start of the race was one of the reasons that, according to Martin, led him to finish only on the third step of the podium. The intention was to maintain a slower pace to conserve rubber for the finale, but the Spaniard believes that this tactic did not work as he expected, also due to the pressure issue while remaining in the slipstream.

“In the end I was too much on the safe side, I tried to manage the tires a lot, but Pecco passed me immediately and there I lost the race, because I had the advantage of being in front, but like yesterday, when I ended up behind everything went up, especially the pressure. Afterwards I tried to stay with Bagnaia, but with the talk that we have pressure, you have to do how the match thinks it will go, otherwise it becomes very confusing. But Bagnaia did a great job, an excellent step, but we already knew it, I have to find something because today was incredible”, explained Martin to Sky Sport.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“The start went well for me, but I was too conservative, trying to save the tire too much. I think if I had tried to push, I would have done another race. That's how it went, we have to learn, but in the end it depends a lot on temperatures and pressures. We'll see in Portimao.”

However, beyond the strategy question, Martin believes that at the moment he is encountering some difficulties in fully exploiting the potential of the GP24, with which he did not have an ideal feeling right from the start. In this case, however, the difficulties are not strictly linked to the aerodynamic configuration, which had created some doubts in the tests, but rather to the chatter issue.

As already mentioned by Bagnaia after the sprint, the vibrations in the rear tires make it even more complicated to make the most of the GP24, so much so that, according to Martin, there is still a considerable margin that he cannot access at the moment.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I'm definitely not able to ride the bike as I like, I can't use the rear brake with this vibration we have at the back. Today went better, but because we drove slower than yesterday. However, I am happy for the final part of the race because I managed to set a good time, my fastest lap, but I am not happy because there is margin on the 2024 package. But given that at the moment I have this feeling, finishing first yesterday and today third, I think it's a good result,” said the Pramac rider.

To try to resolve the vibration issues, both Martin and Bagnaia made setup changes in warm-up, which actually helped manage the chattering. But it is clear that, according to the Spaniard, a more long-term solution must be found, which allows the true potential of the bike to be expressed.

“Today went much better, but because I rode in a very different way. Both Bagnaia and I made a change in the warm-up, but in any case you have to ride much softer, we can't push when entering the corner because otherwise the consumption multiplies tenfold. I think both Pecco and I can go much faster but, for the moment, the tires can't stand it,” added Martin.