Jorge Martin’s lacklustre performance at the MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix was track-specific rather than indicative of a wider problem with his Aprilia.
The 2024 MotoGP champion never appeared to be a frontrunner at MotorLand, qualifying half a second off pole and finishing well behind the podium runners in fifth.
This was a marked downturn from his outing at Silverstone just three weeks earlier, where he claimed pole, won the sprint and took second in the grand prix.
While some of this could be attributed to Ducati having an edge over Aprilia in Aragon, Marco Bezzecchi’s podium-earning performance on the other side of the garage showed the RS-GP had more potential.
For Martin, this wasn’t a case of his early-season issues reappearing. Instead, he struggled with a lack of traction the entire weekend, a problem that seemingly didn’t impact other Aprilias to the same extent.
“I don’t feel a lot of grip. Maybe I need to train more on flat tracks because I feel I’m always loose and I’m not really enjoying on the motorbike, but this is part of the journey,” Martin said.
“The grip overall was my limit during all the weekend. I was trying a lot with the grip and towards the end of the race, I was feeling a bit better. I was able to catch Alex [Marquez] a bit.”
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Martin suffered several difficult weekends in the first half of the season, with seemingly no explanation, as his form fluctuated wildly from race to race.
It wasn’t until he reverted to an older set-up at Silverstone – the same one that guided him to a double win at Le Mans – that he was able to rediscover the ‘feeling’ that has been missing on his bike.
He carried the same set-up direction into Aragon and, while the performance was missing, he still felt comfortable on the bike. It’s why the championship leader sees no reason to panic.
“I feel confident. I feel good with the front,” he stressed. “The thing is that [the grip] is dropping.
“I start to lose grip. So, I think the bike is working really well. I just need to improve to ride when the grip is low and low.
He added: “The feeling is there, not like maybe Brno or Sachsenring, where I didn’t have the feeling. I feel what is happening, but I don’t feel the performance. I feel I’m sliding everywhere and I cannot build speed.
“I’m happy that I feel the bike, this is really super important. So, when the grip is there, or tracks where we have grip, this won’t be a problem.”
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Martin got off the line well on Sunday and briefly moved to second behind team-mate Bezzecchi, only to drop back to fifth after eventual race winner Marc Marquez muscled past him at Turn 15.
With Marquez scoring a double win at Aragon, Martin’s championship lead has been slashed from 31 to 19 points, with nine rounds still to run this season.
The 28-year-old doesn’t see the Aragon weekend as anything more than a damage-limitation exercise, describing the track as his worst of the season.
“I think it’s more about this track particularly that I struggle,” he explained. “I really wanted to finish the weekend and I took two top fives.
“In a really bad weekend, almost the worst of the season in terms of speed, I was able to make some points.
“I prefer that to taking some risks and crashing, so this is what I think I need to do at the moment. Maybe in the next races I have to take more risks, but not for this one.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here