by VALERIO BARRETTA
Martin surprised by Bagnaia at the start
Jorge Martin did the lion's share of the work on Saturday only to then lose out on Sunday. As happened too many times in 2023, when he won the Sprint nine times, 2024 Martinator it starts with a perfect performance on Saturday and a Sunday full of regrets. In Qatar the Spaniard was mocked at the start by Francesco Bagnaia: the world champion did well to recover from fifth position and take on four bikes, including the #89 twin, in 32 seconds.
Martin's words
The Ducati Pramac rider commented on the Lusail podium as follows: “Last year I finished in 12th place, this year in third, so there has been an improvement, but I'm definitely not managing to ride the bike as I would like. I can't use the rear brake with the vibrations in the backtoday went better but because we drove slower than yesterday“, these are his words to Sky Sports MotoGP. “I'm happy with the end of the race because I managed to set my fastest lap, but I'm not happy because there's still a margin. With this feeling, finishing first yesterday and third today is a good result“.
The key moment
Martin explained the decisive moment of the race, the start: “I made a mistake because I tried too hard to manage the tyre, and 'Pecco' overtook me. It was at that point that I lost the race, because I had expected to be in front and the moment I found myself behind the pressure increased. I tried to stay close to him, but 'Pecco' did a good job. We've known this since last year, and I have to find something“.
“If I had pushed straight away for a lap maybe I would have done another race, but that's how it went and we have to learn. It depends a lot on temperatures and pressures, but we'll see in Portimão“, he concluded. “The chattering was very different from yesterday, both Bagnaia and I made improvements in the warm up, but you have to ride the bike more gently because you can't push too hard when entering corners, otherwise you wear out the tire and consumption increases tenfold. Both he and I can go faster, but for now the tires can't stand it“.
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