This weekend will mark a month since the Qatar Grand Prix, where Jorge Martín recorded his worst result of the season, finishing 10th and seeing his chances of being crowned the 2023 MotoGP World Champion virtually evaporate.
From the beginning, when he lost control of the bike, and for almost all the laps, the Spaniard's performances were not in line with the rest of the season, nor with the sprint race held the previous day, which he won by scoring the fastest lap (1'53″355) at the sixth of the 11 scheduled.
On the same track, with the same bike and tires (hard compound) and, practically, the same temperature, with only 24 hours of difference Martin went from the low and average 1'53 of the sprint to the much slower one of the race. In fact, of the 21 laps completed by the Spaniard on Sunday, four were in 1'53 high, 16 in 1'54 and the 11th in 1'55″039, a second and a half slower than the same lap the day before in the sprint , 1'53″417.
After the race, Martin pointed to the rear tire as the cause of his problems, sparking a harsh defense from the championship's supplier, Michelin. According to the French manufacturer, “Jorge's performance did not live up to expectations”, pointing the finger at the driver as the culprit.
The week following the Qatar GP, in Valencia, Michelin informed Pramac that the tire production process had been monitored and that the result showed no anomalies, promising to analyze the compound.
On the Friday of the Valencia GP, a Michelin delegation, led by Piero Taramasso, went to the media to explain that there had been no anomaly in the tire production process in France. “So there was no quality issue with Martin's tire,” Taramasso said, before committing to further testing.
After this official appearance, the producer spoke again in an interview with an Italian media, where once again Taramasso indicates Martin as the one responsible for what happened to him in Qatar.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Surprise at Pramac
Michelin's position aroused “surprise” in Pramac, where the results of the analysis of the tire compound used by the rider are still awaited, as promised by the Clermont-Ferrand company.
“Together with Ducati, we had a meeting on Thursday in Valencia with Michelin,” Prima Pramac Racing team manager Gino Borsoi told Motorsport.com.
“In that meeting they explained to us that they had checked the construction phase of the tire and that no defects or errors were detected. Michelin cannot explain this and we have no reason to doubt it”, continues Borsoi.
“Throughout this process Ducati supported and accompanied us, creating a special work team to analyze everything that happened on the basis of the data, both from Jorge and from other riders of the brand, something for which we are very grateful, in what demonstrates the company's interest and support for all its drivers, whether they are from the official team or not”, explains the former Italian driver.
“At no point during Thursday's meeting in Valencia did Taramasso directly point the finger at the driver as being responsible for his lack of performance in the Qatar race, so we are a little surprised by the statements that emerged to this effect, which we understand are due to some misunderstandings”, mitigates the Pramac boss.
“Just look at the data and results, crashes aside, of the rest of Jorge's races throughout the entire season, and even more so given that the day before he won the Sprint race. It's clear that from one day to the next Martin won't he forgot to race. There were no changes, the bike had the same set-up as on Saturday. The technical conditions of the tires on Sunday were even slightly better than the previous day. But something didn't work at the start, with Jorge who was always one of the best, if not the best.”
“Michelin is a manufacturer that deserves all our respect, and naturally we do not question the results of the tests that they assured us they had carried out to establish, for the moment, that the tire had no defects. But I would also like them to respect the analyzes that we did as a team, together with Ducati.”
Analysis in which no change in Martin's driving was detected, but a loss of grip on the rear tire.
In addition to the “surprise”, Taramasso's statements create some concern within Pramac, with the French company pointing the finger at the rider without having concluded all the investigations.
“We are still waiting for the analysis of the tire compound. After the race in Qatar, Michelin took the unit to France, where they had to open it up to analyze it thoroughly. To date we still know nothing about these tests, it has been a month and we hope to get some information on it soon. But I think it's a sufficiently important test to reach conclusions.”
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