English
Italiano
It is the weekend that could make him part of history, and Jorge Martin knows it well. At Barcelona, the Spaniard aims to become world champion, but in his way is Pecco Bagnaia, who at the end of Friday proved to be the fastest of all.
For his part, the Pramac rider finished fifth, 296 thousandths behind his Lenovo Team rival. Martin appeared nervous at times today, even risked ending up on the ground, but in the end the situation seems to be under control on his part.
"Today was a really challenging day," he began, "with the time I had available I tried all the tires and I'm happy, because I gathered all the information I needed. There are positive aspects, others less so, but I respected everything that was the work plan."
What can you tell us about the feelings found?
"On paper I am competitive, good on the pace and also with speed. I missed the second stint, in fact the feeling was worse. Unfortunately, I was struggling with rear grip and lacked some confidence in the left-hand turns. However, I know what the direction is for Saturday and tomorrow I will follow my instincts."
You appeared more nervous than usual, is that true?
"It is normal to be nervous, but actually I am very calm because all my family members and people who love me are here. The most difficult thing is to race here in Barcelona in a completely unprecedented context because of the conditions, since there is less grip and as a result you also have less confidence. However, I am of the opinion that a good job has been done, in fact we tried all the tires, gathering interesting information. My goal is to be in the fight for the podium, and I'm close there."
Do you think you or Pecco are more nervous?
"I don't know, you should ask him. I am calm, he did first in the afternoon, so I think we both need to be calm. I personally stay focused on my work without thinking too much about the world championship or the result."
Can you explain what happened in the box when you called Romagnoli?
"There was a lot of noise and so I called Daniele making the gestures, since I initially thought he was there near my position. I just wanted to talk to Romagnoli, then they touched me on the shoulder and I got even more nervous, in fact I said don't touch me, because I want everything to be normal as usual (smiles)."
Do you think tomorrow could be the day to become champion?
"I am prepared to win it tomorrow, as well as on Sunday, inside I am ready for anything. The important thing is to be competitive, because if you lack competitiveness you don't go anywhere. Today's was not an easy day, but we did a great job and tomorrow we will try to improve."
Let's talk about the tires: what is the situation?
"To tell you the truth I didn't feel very good on the soft tires, I feel better on the hard ones. I'm more confident for Sunday's race, since on Saturday I think it's practically impossible to close the World Championship. So I don't want to take risks and then make a mistake and ruin everything. So I prefer to focus on qualifying and then we will see what position I will be in. For the Sprint I think we will see many fast riders while on Sunday I think the situation will change."
Are you ready to get some help from Aleix?
"Today I gave Aleix a hand while I denied it to Bezzecchi. Let's see what will happen tomorrow. Today Espargarò and I went out together and he was very fast here in Barcelona. If he wants to give me help I won't refuse it."
What do you think of the track conditions?
"In Valencia the grip is clearly better while here it is poor. At the moment we talked about it in the Safety Commission and I think it needs resurfacing. In my opinion this is one of the worst tracks on the calendar. You have no way to overtake, let alone take advantage of the rear tire, as a result the spectacle is reduced."
