Goal achieved
Friday’s goal was achieved by Jorge Martin: the direct access to Q2 came thanks to a great time attack that placed the 2024 world champion in eighth position, about a tenth behind teammate Marco Bezzecchi. The similarities between the two Aprilia home riders end here, however, because Martinator still doesn’t seem to have found the right feeling to face the challenges of Mugello. He admitted it himself, speaking in the media scrum with journalists at the end of the Practice. It naturally also involves the precarious physical condition of the Madrid rider, who is coming off six crashes in four days in Barcelona, between race weekend and tests.
“The morning went well, but the afternoon session was really stressful – admitted Martin – in the last quarter of an hour I attacked at full throttle and in the end we managed to get in [top-10], of that I am really happy. This morning I felt quite a lot of pain, but then the situation improved. Today I feel I pushed to the limit, I did the 1:45 practically holding my breath. At the end of the lap I was struggling to breathe. I am still exhausted from the effort, but this is our sport and it is not easy. I did my best. I had a feeling I had never experienced before, so it means I pushed to the max. Painkillers tomorrow? Yes, absolutely, I will take something”.
Little feeling and a lot of effort
“At Mugello I have less feeling compared to the other tracks faced so far – Martin added – in Barcelona it was cold, the grip was strange, but I always had a good feeling with the front. Here I feel much more movement and the bike moves a bit more. But maybe it’s just a matter of confidence in myself. After all those crashes, I always have the feeling of being about to fall, so I have to work on it. You have to work on confidence”.
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Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, which promises to be extreme also from a temperature point of view, Martin is convinced he is not the only one destined to suffer: “Worried? I think everyone should be worried about physical condition, because here, even if you are at 100%, it is really tough. Surely we will have to slow down the pace a bit, otherwise we won’t make it to the end“, he concluded.
