Jorge Martin retires from the Spanish GP in Jerez while in the lead – He was controlling the pace at the time – No idea what caused the crash
For Jorge Martin, his home MotoGP race in Jerez ended in the gravel. After a mistake by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), the Spaniard moved to the front of the field in the early stages and defended first place. But on the eleventh lap, Martin crashed off his Pramac Ducati in the Pedrosa corner (turn 6) and was out of the race
“It was a strange crash,” sighed Martin. “We looked at the data and at first glance you can see that I had the same speed and braked at the same point. We still need to understand the details better.”
“I didn’t expect to crash at that point because I turned into the corner early and was quite upright. We need to understand that so we don’t repeat it again.”
Martin was not riding at the absolute limit at this point, but controlled his pace: “I tried to ride a constant pace. 1:37.9 and 1:38.0 was a reasonable pace at that point to maintain the lead.”
“I wanted to save the rear tire for the end and was focused. There were corners where I took a bit more of a risk. But turn 6 was not one of them. I always tried to keep the same pace and not attack any more. At that point, I wanted to ride consistently.”
“That’s why I’m frustrated, because if I had pushed, then I would understand the crash.” Martin also confirmed that he had no chattering on the rear wheel throughout the weekend in Jerez. So that was not the cause of the crash.
Was it the pressure in the front tire? “We rode with a slightly higher pressure than on Saturday. As I was in the lead, it was okay from the second lap onwards. I don’t think the crash was due to the tire pressure. I have not yet understood the cause. “
@88jorgemartin goes down at T6!
Never-ending drama here in Jerez
And @PeccoBagnaia inherits the lead SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/NvihYfNeuF
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) April 28, 2024
Bagnaia was right behind and says: “I saw that he gained some time in the braking phase on this lap. His front wheel folded, but it’s difficult to know why he crashed. Sometimes it can happen in this corner because the tarmac is a bit strange there.”
But Martin is sure that Ducati will understand the reasons for the crash after a thorough examination of the data. After winning the sprint race on Saturday, Martin was left empty-handed on Sunday.
Defending champion Bagnaia is now the new world championship runner-up. Martin still has a 17-point lead. Despite the disappointment at his home race, he is relaxed about the situation: “There are still so many races to come. I took twelve points from Jerez, that’s not too bad.”
“I’m not worried. We improved significantly in Jerez compared to last year. I’ll take that with me. I crashed while leading and won on Saturday. I was competitive in the dry and in the wet.”
In any case, Martin does not believe that he could have won the race: “‘Pecco’ was exceptional. His pace was incredible. I don’t think I could have done 1:37.4. Maybe 1:37.6, but definitely not 1:37.4. “
