With the soft rear tire, Jorge Martin is experiencing vibrations again in the Portimao sprint – that’s why he had no chance against Vinales and Marquez
“Sprint King” Jorge Martin also battled for the top positions in the short Saturday race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but in the end there was no chance of another victory. The Spaniard from the Pramac-Ducati team was narrowly beaten by his compatriots Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) and Marc Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) and finished third
Martin had already feared that this might be the case after qualifying: “I’m not yet coping as well with the soft tire as I was with the medium. I have a better feeling for the race tomorrow than I did today.”
In addition, the front row of the grid did not get off to the best possible start. Martin only came back from the first lap in sixth place. “If you’re first, second or only sixth after the first corner, that makes a big difference.”
As a result, Martin was involved in many duels right from the start. He was able to overtake Enea Bastianini (Ducati), Jack Miller (KTM) and then Marquez, but then he was stuck behind Vinales, couldn’t get past and also made small mistakes.
“Of course I thought that I could fight for the win. I tried, but I couldn’t overtake Maverick. I’ve been struggling with the soft rear tire all weekend.”
“Again, I had strong vibrations at the rear,” Martin names the problem. “That’s probably because we attack too hard with the rear tire. Because then I get these problems. It got worse with every lap.”
Like everyone in the top field, the runner-up in the sprint was riding with the hard front and soft rear tires. And with this mixture, vibrations occurred at the rear, just like at the final winter test in Qatar.
“I don’t understand it exactly,” puzzles Martin and suspects: “I think we have to be more careful with the tires at the beginning of the race with the new bike and only attack later. That was the case in Qatar and we also have these problems here. “
Hard racing at its finest ⚔️@88jorgemartin into 3rd now PortugueseGP pic. twitter.com/lP1PPYQ2XD
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 23, 2024
“We have to solve this, otherwise we’ll have this problem all year round. The other brands don’t have it. So we have to work on it. Yesterday it was okay, today it was okay and then it happened again in the race. I don’t understand the reason for this. “
Martin: Overtaking maneuver would have been too risky
The vibrations from the rear wheel were the reason why Martin bared his teeth at Vinales and could not get past. “After ‘Pecco’s’ mistake, I thought he might make a few mistakes,” said Martin. “But his pace was still fast.”
“A maneuver would have been too risky. I tried to be close behind him, but I had a lot of trouble with these vibrations. I felt stronger on the brakes, but I couldn’t get any cornering speed. That’s why I wasn’t close enough behind him before the next braking phase.”
“I think my final result was influenced by the fact that I couldn’t make this maneuver.” On the penultimate lap, Martin slightly missed the apex in turn 13. As a result, he lost contact with Vinales and came under pressure from Marquez for the final lap.
In the end, Marquez successfully braked past in turn 5 and pushed Martin into third place. “I wouldn’t have expected it in that corner, but maybe a little later,” he said of the Gresini rider’s maneuver.
Everyone is on their feet for Maverick Viñales!
Top Gun claims his FIRST TissotSprint win PortugueseGP pic.twitter.com/Hmtfl53IvM
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 23, 2024
“But I also had trouble with the pressure in the front tire. That’s why I couldn’t brake hard. He was behind me for a few laps and could see where he could try.” Nevertheless, Martin made up ground on Francesco Bagnaia in the World Championship and is now only two points behind.
Martin could therefore take the lead in the Grand Prix. He also assumes that things will go better on Sunday, as all riders are expected to switch to the harder medium rear tire then.
“I feel much better with the medium rear tire,” Martin emphasizes his confidence. “I hope it will make the bike more stable. With the used medium, I was still fast after 25 laps in the morning. If I manage the tire a bit on Sunday, then it could be okay. “
