Different aero for Jorge Martin - but he’s spotted one potential problem

MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin says he is “really impressed” by the pace he showed in Friday practice at the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix.

The Pramac rider ended the day second-fastest and just 0.040 seconds shy of Enea Bastianini’s new lap record, having himself also dipped underneath the old track best with a 1m29.670s.

Both Martin - who leads the championship by 24 points - and Bastianini look to be a step ahead of the rest on long run pace, which has impressed the Pramac rider.

“So, the day was really good,” he told the media, including Crash.net, at Mandalika.

“I’m super happy. Straight away in the first run I was fast, and then I was fast all day.

“So, yeah, I am very happy. I feel maybe I miss a little bit in time attack.

“But in the second stint there was a lot of traffic, so maybe I could have improved.

“But with the pace I’m really impressed with how fast we are going. And it seems Enea is also competitive at the moment. But let’s see tomorrow.”

Martin feels in qualifying trim there are some gains to be made in “two corners” but feels like his speed is “coming really naturally”.

“Not any particular sector,” he added when asked if there was anywhere on the track he can improve.

“I feel strong. There are two corners where I had some issues in time attack that I can maybe improve tomorrow.

“But I really enjoyed riding here, I really like it and it’s coming really naturally. So, really happy.”

Martin spots issue with aero

Both Martin and Bastianini are running aero parts on their Ducatis that Francesco Bagnaia is not this weekend.

The Spaniard believes the update offers stronger corner-entry on the GP24, but takes away some of the bike’s turning.

“I like it. It feels like it’s turning a bit worse, but maybe what I feel is I can enter a bit faster into the corners, like I can carry a bit more speed into the corner,” he noted.

“So, for sure it’s not better or worse - it’s different.

“I felt in Misano it was good and at some point, I don’t want to go backwards and forwards, so I said ‘Ok, we put it on and then we don’t go back to the old one’.

“I don’t feel more feeling with it. It’s just I can go faster into the corners.

“Then I struggle to stop it maybe in the last bit of brakes, it seems it loses a bit the front more than the other fairing.

“But, in terms of speed it’s maybe a bit faster. So, that’s why I keep it. But it’s not about feeling, it’s about the time.”