Jorge Martín has been the protagonist of the MotoGP French Grand Prix. Yesterday, he secured pole position with a new lap record at Le Mans, then went on to dominate the Sprint race. Now, the main race follows, where the Prima Pramac rider is one of the top contenders for victory.
The Spaniard anticipates strong competition in Sunday’s race, where the main priority will be to finish with points: ‘I want to finish, to take points, and then to go with whatever we can to the next race. We have to be prepared because everything can happen. Pecco [Bagnaia] will be super strong, he will try to win for sure because he didn’t score in the Sprint race. [Marc] Márquez will be strong, Enea [Bastianini] can be really fast at the end. Whatever it comes, will be good. Just the important thing is to finish, to be competitive, and I think if I put my 100% as on Saturday – I put a great pace out there – it will be difficult also for the others to don’t be at the limit, because we are a lot on the limit and this is the most important thing’.
When asked about the key to this race, Martín was pragmatic: ‘I don’t know. The key, you will know after the race. I’m not the only one with a great pace; I think Pecco is really strong, Enea is really strong also. So I don’t know. I think maybe if you manage a bit at the beginning you can have more tyre at the end. But then if you manage too much, then you can lose positions. So I will try my best and try to make the most of the race’.
Starting from pole position, #89 has a good opportunity to manage the race from the front, and he considers that to be a more favorable situation: ‘I think it’s better to lead, because here the sensibility of the front tyre with the front pressure is quite difficult. On Saturday I was perfect on the pressure, but if you are behind of someone, it becomes really difficult. That’s why I was quite relaxed in the Sprint race, because I thought: «Okay, if [Marco] Bezzecchi catches me, then he will struggle with the front». So in the main race will be a bit more of this – even more with the full tank. So I think leading is important in the first four or five laps’.