Phillip Island.- With a time of 1.27.767, Jorge Martín achieved pole position at the Australian Grand Prix and broke a record (1.27.899) that had been in place since 2013, when Jorge Lorenzo beat him at the handlebars of the Yamaha wearing tires Bridgestone.
“Breaking a record is not something you do every time, I did it in Austin and we repeated it here. I thought it would be impossible for me because of the front tire, but we did it.”
For Martín, this Saturday is a return to his classic explosive laps that led him to pole position in Qatar and Austin, a speed that he had lost during many races and that he has recovered in the last ones, in time to look for a victory before to close the course.
“I’m very happy, I’ve been looking for pole for a few races and it’s finally here. We’ve had a great lap, I almost didn’t expect it because the rubber was a bit marked already on the second attempt, but it went well and I’m really happy to to have achieved it”, exclaimed the young Spanish driver at the end of Q2.
Martin was pleased to have regained his fast lap style.
“The explosiveness comes from the last races, today in the morning I was able to take the references and do the fast corners well, which on Friday cost me a bit. I managed a good lap, although the tires were already a bit worn, but I went to the limit and it has gone well”, he insisted.
Yesterday I was very lost, but the experience I gained trying to understand the references was very important. Fast corners are very difficult with MotoGP, and we have taken a step forward.”
“It’s always great to go fast for a lap, we’ve got a lot of grip even in a drift, it’s a lot of fun sliding on full throttle.”
The concern, facing the race, is the consumption of the tires and making the right choice.
“The choice would be the hard rear, it’s the option for the race, the soft and medium ones don’t hold up and they collapse very soon,” he said. “The doubt comes with the front tire, we all suffer from wear, we will try something in the warm up to see if we can improve that aspect,” he said.
Martín does not want to throw the bells on the fly and is aware that there are very fast pilots, but he does not rule out in advance.
“If we can hang in there and stay with the front guys until the end, I think we’ll have some chance of winning the race because we have good pace for the final few laps,” he ventured.
“I’m looking for victory this year, I’m going to try tomorrow, we’re going to try to take a step forward, the last 10 laps will be the key, we’re going to try to go for it,” closed the man from Madrid.
