Jorge Martin: Mandalika MotoGP sprint crash “difficult to understand”, wants to check track
Championship leader can’t explain costly sprint crash
Jorge Martin says his crash out of the lead of the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix sprint is “difficult to understand” and wants to check if there was an issue with the corner he fell at.
The Pramac rider dominated qualifying with a new lap record to claim pole for this weekend’s races at Mandalika, and was topped to break away at the front of the pack in the 13-lap sprint.
Having gotten his lead up to four tenths already come the end of the first lap, Martin then fell at Turn 16, which let Francesco Bagnaia take over at the front and take a crucial victory.
Martin remounted to finish out of the points in 10th, with his championship lead now down from 24 to 12 after Saturday’s sprint race.
“Well, you can see I crashed,” he said when asked by Crash.net for explanation.
“Difficult to understand why I crashed. I looked into it and everything was normal.
“So, for sure something needs to change. I will take a look into it deeper and understand to not make the same mistake tomorrow.”
The 2024 Michelin rear tyre has a tendency to push the front more under braking due to the increased grip it offers, which has contributed to a number of crashes this season.
But Martin doesn’t believe this was the case for him on Saturday, adding: “I don’t feel I was on the limit.
“If this is the theory, qualifying could be much worse. I felt qualifying was ok and I felt everything was good in the race.
“I crashed and I finished 10th overtaking 10 riders or more. So, for sure, I had to change the set-up to adapt to the tyres, but now the balance seems ok.
“I felt during the weekend that everything was good and I was able to push straight from the first lap.
“And during the race it seems I struggled to warm a bit the tyre. So, it’s a bit strange. But then afterwards it was working well.”
In the first half of the season, Martin suffered a number of crashes that were later explained by him using a part on his GP24 the others did not.
This was changed after the German GP, when he crashed out of the lead, and says the feeling he had at Mandalika on Saturday was not similar.
He now wants to examine the penultimate corner of the Indonesian venue because he feels a possible issue with the asphalt is the cause of his crash.
“I think on that part of the track there is something strange,” he said.
“Already Simon [Crafar] told me two days ago and I’ve been really taking a look into that corner, trying to be careful.
“I even crashed this morning, so I’m really taking care on that point. And I still crashed. So, for sure, the thing will be to do it a bit slowly and keep a bit of margin and then push in the rest of the track.
“I don’t feel I lose the front with the new aero, it feels really good.
“So, I just feel there’s some small part, I don’t know where, on that particular corner that is slippery because the rest of the track is super grippy.
“So, it’s just that point. I will try to understand and take a look at the marks of my crash and go elsewhere.
“Maybe I will take a look and tomorrow in the warm-up I will look into it. Also afterwards, everything went well going into that corner. So, it was just that particular lap.”
