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Sixth in the morning and second in pre-qualifying, Jorge Martin closed positively, despite a setback, on Friday in Sepang setting up an immediate head-to-head with his main rival for the title, Bagnaia.
"I am very happy with my day. Too bad I finished with a crash because I wanted to improve my time, but I pushed too hard. In any case, I'm not worried, in fact I'm glad I've already identified the limit, so in the coming days I'll avoid the risk of ending up on the ground. This morning I was very comfortable with a tire that in theory is not at all suitable for this track having a carcass that does not facilitate riding, but I was equally fast. In the afternoon, on the other hand, already on the first lap I scored a 1'58"9 and having seen that I had a good pace I went calmer and was able to try different front tire solutions so I could figure out which is the best option for Sunday," the Spaniard explained.
About the crash he explained, "I was happy with my time attack and I had already risked crashing. At the first corner I came too fast and fell. Better anyway that it happened today. I like the track and I also feel comfortable in the saddle, plus the bike is going very well. Maybe it was too hot in the beginning, but I always felt competitive and confident. I don't want to change anything and I will try to keep this working approach."
With Pecco there has already been an episode. "I had gone out for my run and happened to be behind him.He obviously considered it a problem and stopped. I stopped myself because there was no reason to go away, but after a while I got tired and started again and did my run. In the end I didn't care about the slipstream. In any case he follows his strategy, I do mine. Now I have to focus on tomorrow's qualifying and Sprint," he recounted.
In the final stages he found himself in a similar situation with Marquez and Acosta: "I wanted to pull, but I already had a good time to enter Q2 being second and I slowed down a bit. At that point gold passed me. It's too bad because if I can help Pedro I'm also happy because he can be a good ally in the group."
Returning to the battle with the Italian he considered, "He will give everything to win the title. If I think about this day, if I can evaluate his time attack, it's hard for me to understand what his pace is because he has turned little, I don't know if to hide."
On the critical issues encountered in corner entry, however, he explained, "We are struggling a little bit with the engine brake, but we have a lot of grip on the rear. The Ducati has to slide a little bit on entry otherwise it pushes the front too much and that's why I crashed. You have to be smart in using the engine brake to be competitive more than with the set-up. It is important to work more with electronics. All the crashes, Germany, Jerez and Mugello happened the same way with the rear pushing the front and even today I couldn't stop in time."
The Malaysian heat is just as pressing as in Thailand. "It's tough, but I have more experience and I feel strong, a couple of years ago I suffered it more, but now I can stand it better and in any case it's better when you're riding than when you're in the pits."
Finally on the situation in Valencia he reasoned as follows, "I think it is important for everyone to know if the last race will be held. I want to win, so if the opportunity presents itself I will try to take it, otherwise I will still give my best as I have done so far. However, I think it is correct to give an answer since we are playing for the title. It's a very delicate situation for us riders, as it is for Dorna. The information coming from Valencia is sad and to me it seems difficult to go, but I will adapt to the decision that will be made by the organizer and the government. Even if it is confirmed, but it is not known on what date I will give 100%.
Automatic Translation by DeepL
