“Stressed” Jorge Martin details “chaotic” Australia MotoGP practice
“I was a bit stressed because I thought some rain was coming”
MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin says he was “a bit stressed” about missing Q2 at the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix after a “chaotic” practice.
The Pramac rider leads the standings by 10 points over Francesco Bagnaia ahead of this weekend’s 17th round of the season.
But it got off to the worst start possible as an early crash at Turn 4 in Friday’s only practice put him on the back foot.
Martin says he didn’t have a second bike to use because it was set up for wet, and when he returned to the track to try for a lap time under the threat of rain, the session was red flagged.
He ultimately ended up fourth fastest and safely into Q2, but admits the setbacks coupled with the rain threat left him “a bit stressed”.
“For sure, the start of the practice was chaotic,” he said.
“I tried to avoid [Fabio] Quartararo and I crashed. So, from that point it was really difficult.
“I couldn’t go on the second bike because it was a wet set-up. So, they repaired the bike and I was a bit stressed because I thought some rain was coming.
“But step by step I was building some confidence, and in the end I felt fast. So, thanks to my team because they did a fantastic job but tomorrow we need to make another step.
“When I had time to exit [after the crash], I went on the green on the first lap and then the second one was red flagged.
“So, no time for me. I thought some rain was coming, so I said ‘Ok, I did a big mistake’. But finally I was able to make more laps and be on top straight away.”
With three rear options available to the riders this weekend due to the new asphalt at Phillip Island, the lack of track time on Friday and the uncertain forecast in practice meant Martin didn’t gain much long run data.
“It was difficult,” he added.
“I was riding just full gas because I thought some rain was coming. So, I tried to stay a bit more on the track after that crash because I lose time.
“So, I didn’t understand a lot about the managing of the tyres today. But, for sure, tomorrow we will analyse a bit more.”
Martin had to abandon a lap at one point in practice because a hare ran onto the circuit in front of him.
While joking about MotoGP needing to stop handing out passes to wildlife, he more seriously pointed out the fact that a similar thing happening in a race situation “will be a big issue”.
“For sure, there’s a lot of wildlife here in Phillip Island,” he said.
“They need to not give any more passes to the animals because if this happens during the race this will be a big issue and a big problem.”
