Just a few years ago, Jorge Martin was a boy with many dreams who was lucky enough to train with Vinales; tomorrow he will be in the front row with him at the start of the Doha GP. In his second MotoGP race, the Spaniard took his first pole position from the Pramac team, a result that two names of the caliber such as Stoner and Marquez have achieved in the past.
“I want to thank my family and the team, I’ve only been with them a month and already feel at home,” he said. Maverick and Aleix Espargarò helped me a lot as a child, picking me up at home and lending me their bikes because I didn’t have the money to buy them. Training with them, with two MotoGP riders, has helped me a lot to improve.
The result could be seen on the track …
“I’m honest, my goal was the third row, the ninth place would have been good for me – he continued – yesterday I felt good on the bike and today I didn’t ride in FP3 because I was in all the wind “was afraid of just creating confusion. I felt great in FP4, like in the first run in qualifying. Before the second, I told my crew chief that I could improve by 3 tenths, but I didn’t think I would take pole. To do that in my second MotoGP race is incredible. But it’s only Saturday, tomorrow the difficult part will come ”.
That is not to say that Martin would not be a surprise, even if he was the first to downplay all expectations …
“Tomorrow it will be time to be a rookie again, of course I would win by 20 seconds, but I don’t think that will be possible. I don’t feel any pressure, nor do I have the potential to win. It is true that anything can happen in a race, but especially me I want to learn from the best and beat them when I am ready, this is not the time. I don’t want to win, but with the goal of not making mistakes and being consistent. If we can fight for a top six that would be great and I’ll be super happy. “
Jorge is sure to learn quickly …
“It’s nice to ride this bike. I thought it was harder, it was like everything was on another level, better. Also in qualifying: I was at the limit, but I didn’t go crazy. but now i have to cover many kilometers and, above all, gain experience, it is the little things that bring a great result together ”.
Johann Zarco: “I thought I was on pole, but that’s the perfect result for the Pramac team”
After the pole position, all the members of Martin’s old teams (Gresini, Aspar, KTM) congratulated him. Even Zarco wasn’t too disappointed to have been ousted by his teammate: “When I crossed the finish line, I expected to be on pole. But when I understood that it was 89 on pole, my team-mate, I was a bit surprised. I’m happy anyway because everything is going too perfect for the Pramac team, first and second, and it’s just lucky to have it. “
Tomorrow is time for the rematch, in the race …
“When I see Jorge’s start last Sunday, I think he’ll take the lead in the first corner and there he’ll understand what it means to lead a MotoGP race.” – was the Frenchman’s prediction – It will be interesting to follow him, if you drive so fast in qualifying, you are not crazy. “
The greatest danger for Johann, however, will be Vinales …
“Starting from the front row with the Ducati is certainly an advantage, but I think Maverick has better pace than us at the moment.” – he admitted – I tried something interesting in free practice and I hope it will allow me to move forward in the race and improve my emotions, but that’s hard to say today ”.
After finishing second last Sunday, Zarco seems ready to aim for victory …
“If I were the surprise of this season, I would be the first to be happy – he said – I’ve been through some difficult moments, but now I have a good experience, the bike is fine, the team is perfect and Ducati is giving me ” Great support. I know our bike is good here in Qatar and I want to take this opportunity. My goal is to repeat Miller’s performance in the second half of last season and fight for the podium and win. After a year on the Ducati, I immediately felt better from the tests. The most important thing is to be able to handle tires and energy, which I missed in the last 4 or 5 laps last Sunday.