Confidence almost at its maximum. That’s how Jorge Martín is at the end of MotoGP’s pre-season tests, with the Spaniard considering that given the improvements made by Ducati over the winter, it will be very difficult for his rivals to ‘keep pace’.
Usually one of the fastest riders, Martín’s best lap on the second day of testing was 1’51.466s and he admitted that he didn’t even give it his all, and that the soft tyre he tested then left him with a very positive impression: ‘I wasn’t pushing that hard. I was pushing of course, but I think it was the first attack with the soft tyre in these two days, and on the first lap you always want to understand the feelings, I tried the lap but I still had a lot more on that tyre, but it’s not something that worries me. When the time comes I’ll do it [a full attack], but certainly the tyre is very good and I liked it a lot’.
Looking back on the pre-season, Martín concluded: ‘I was very competitive in Malaysia, competitive here, so overall I felt very good. Physically I also felt very good and the only thing that worries me is the little vibration I have, but in terms of work for the race I feel we’ve made a big step forward compared to last season. I think we’ve improved the pace by a second, or 0.8s, and it will be difficult for the other brands to keep pace with the Ducati. It looks like Aprilia have also improved a little, but we’re super competitive’.
We’re less than two weeks away from the start of the season.