In the morning the Pramac Ducati rider was a long second off the fastest and suffered a crash, destroying the bike quite a bit, for which he was forced to go through Q1 for the first time this season.
However, in FP4, the Spaniard began to improve his times, then he went through Q1 with the fastest time and in Q2 he not only took pole, but also set the best time ever achieved on this track (2.02.039 ), beating Marc Márquez’s all-time record in 2014.
“The truth is that it has been a bit of a strange day, I wasn’t comfortable at all, neither to make a good time nor for the pace, I even had doubts that I would enter Q2. We have had a great FP4, changed some things that They have given me confidence and we have had a better feeling”, he explained.
“It’s a bit of experience that is helping me make these improvements, this pole counts for two or four, because things were very difficult and we managed to solve them. I have to thank the team because they have worked hard, they have finished the bike after the crash (at the end of FP3) when there were five minutes left to start FP4. Without a doubt, I have a great team”, he congratulated.
Despite the fact that in one lap Martín has become an absolute specialist, he has two this year and four front rows in total, the pace of the race is another story.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I don’t know what pace we have, we’re not fatal but not to win, however we have found something that will give us confidence for the race,” he said.
“I think that on this track any small detail is important, a small change in a corner gives you a time difference, I have improved my braking, I have given gas before… these are details that have helped me improve today”
“Last year on this track I wasn’t even in the top 10 and I finished fifth and looking at the podium. Fabio Quartararo has a lot of pace, I think I’m better with high temperatures, I can’t go with the soft one in front so when the temperature drops with the hard tire I go better”, he explained.
“We’ll see how things go tomorrow, I think I can hold on because physically I’m fine.”
Jorge Martín will start first on the grid tomorrow, with no less than four Ducati behind him.
“I prefer to fight with Ducati than with other brands, I’m sure Marc Márquez can arrive, the Suzukis are strong, but we have to be careful because the differences are small. The race will be fun as always”, settled the Spaniard.
