MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin put a positive spin on today’s crash in Practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, saying it will help him to know where the limit is at the Sepang circuit.
Martin lost the front end of his Pramac Ducati at the tight first corner moments after seeing that his title rival Francesco Bagnaia had posted a faster time late in the session.
The accident brought practice to an early end for Martin, but the Spaniard’s best time still put him second-fastest and directly into Q2 on Saturday.
While falling on a day when factory Ducati rider and two-time champion Bagnaia was fastest in both sessions could be seen as a psychological blow for Martin, there is no major consequence to the incident given that he comfortably made the top 10.
Nor does Martin subscribe to the idea that the mishap will rob him of any confidence as he defends a 17-point lead at the penultimate round of the championship.
“I think it’s also positive that I crashed today,” said Martin, who is chasing a maiden crown. “Because I can see the limit and understand why I crashed. So it’s good to crash today!
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I prefer to crash now than in the race. I like this track and the bike is working really well. I was feeling competitive throughout and I feel confident with our work.”
Martin confirmed that he had been trying to respond to Bagnaia’s lap of 1m57.679s.
“I was okay with my time attack, even if I almost crashed on my [previous] lap,” he said. “Then I went down the [start/finish] straight and saw I was second, so I said ‘okay, I will try to improve a bit more’.
“But even at the first corner it was already too much, and I just crashed.
“We [Martin and Bagnaia] were pushing – it was a normal day! We were pushing and still able to keep the gap between ourselves and the rest, so it’s impressive.”
Martin also explained that engine braking was a key factor in his crash, as was the case in previous accidents this season.
“I think we are struggling a bit with the engine braking,” the 26-year-old added. “We have quite a lot of grip on the rear tyre, so with the Ducati you need to slide the rear on entry because otherwise the front pushes. That’s why I crashed.
“So the thing is to be really clever about how you use the engine braking. It’s [more important] than the set-up. It’s much better to stop [working on] the set-up and work on the electronics.
“All the crashes I had this season during races, like Germany, Jerez and Mugello, were the same. The rear was pushing the front. So I’m trying to be really precise on that – today we didn’t make it and I crashed.”