Jorge Martin finished Friday with the fifth fastest time, less than a second behind Aleix Espargaro who led and broke the track record. Still, Francesco Bagnaia’s absence from Q2 was noted by Martin who says he is happy with his bike, stating that he hopes to see the world champion in Q2:
– Well, it’s working well (the bike), in terms of pace I feel good, it was just Aleix who was one step above everyone else, but compared to Maverick I feel a bit stronger. I’m still in doubt with the front tyre, to try to understand its normal wear, we started to lose grip after 4/5 laps so it’s difficult, I have to test more tyres than I’m used to, but with the hard front I felt good in the afternoon, not in the morning and I was competitive. Then in the time attack I had a great moment, so I stopped and did the second attempt and it was difficult, but the important thing is that we are in Q2 and we will try again tomorrow. (…) Yes, I saw that he was left out and it’s a bit strange of him to have been left out of Q2 like that, but for sure he will go to Q2. The point is that he’ll have one less tyre if he can advance (to Q2), so it’s important, it’s like it’s his first mistake, let’s put it that way. The important thing is that we are inside (Q2) and we will try to focus on the race in FP3.
Still asked in a debrief about the weather conditions, Jorge Martin said he felt good, explaining that the Indonesian circuit is a fluid layout, not very physical:
– In the morning I felt good here. Not like in India that in the afternoon I was already fighting a lot, right in FP2, I was fighting a lot. I feel comfortable, and I feel like it’s not going to happen the same as in India, I hope, and it’s not a very physical track, we have to ride smoothly. I need to work a little bit on the bike, the maps and the power, but the bike is working really well and the set-up is almost perfect so that.