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Jorge Martìn closed with a fourth position this Friday in Aragon, hitting the Q2 target without any problems. However, the Spaniard cashed more than half a second from a particularly inspired Marc Marquez, and in the meeting with journalists at the end of track activities he candidly admitted that he did not think he could compete with Marc for pole tomorrow, aiming rather to improve and simply try to get closer.
This is not a surrender, for the simple fact that Martìn's real goal in Aragon is to beat Pecco Bagnaia and attempt to return to the leader in the overall. A goal that seems plausible, also because today Bagnaia himself hit Q2, but after a very complicated first free practice session.
"It was a really strange day - Martìn's comment - this morning although the conditions were complicated I felt fast, I was second and it wasn't bad at all. This afternoon I tried various tire combinations, mostly the hard on the front with the medium on the rear. Others have been running on soft in the back for a long time, so I think it's hard to tell our level compared to others. Then when I put on the new soft for the time attack I understood the situation better. I feel calm though, for sure the bike has improved a lot between the morning and the afternoon."
Marquez has been the benchmark, but do you think you can beat him?
"Marquez is the fastest, it seems clear to me. Right now my goal is not to be with him, but to try to simply do my best and then maybe get closer to Marc ahead of the race. I'm not surprised honestly by his speed here. He won so much at Motorland and it's normal to see him in front."
How did you feel about the new asphalt?
"For me the grip was good already this morning. Especially at the front you could brake very hard right away, while with the rear things improved a lot only in the afternoon. In some places the track is not clean enough. In turn 12 for example it often seemed complicated. But it was enough for me to put the new soft on the rear to feel impressive grip. It felt like a Moto 3, you could open the throttle anywhere and feel this exaggerated level of grip. So doing the time attack was a lot of fun, but the point is that there is too much grip and that is often a problem."
What are you lacking to think about fighting with Marquez?
"Maybe with a little bit more confidence with the front I can think about the front row. In braking I'm at the level of Marc and Pecco, but in the middle of the corner in certain points I'm not. Then in the race it will be complicated to choose the right tire, because the bike rides very well with soft, but after a few laps it already drops a lot."
Will we see times drop that much tomorrow?
"We are at the limit without a doubt. Marc bends the bike a lot, so I think in general he is taking several more risks than the other riders on the Ducati. He has a lot of confidence in the 8 and 9. I lose a lot of tenths in a single corner against him, and all in all I'm happy to lose so much just in one corner, because I know I can make a step forward by improving even just there. If I lost everywhere it would be much more complicated. Even at three I think I have some margin, especially if the grip with the front improves tomorrow."
Do you like this Aragon more with the new asphalt?
"The track has become much faster than in the past, but it's also complicated. All this grip has made it fun for sure, but it still has to take a step forward, it has to settle down and in my opinion with each session it will get better. Then it's a special track, you also have to adapt to go fast here."
Automatic Translation by DeepL
