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Jorge Martin was able to breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the tests in Sepang. After the doubts about the new fairing that gripped him on the second day of testing, the world championship runner-up managed to find the right feeling with the new aerodynamics, arriving at the same conclusions as the two riders of the Lenovo Ducati team, Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini.
“I think I kept a good pace in all the laps I did. I felt consistent throughout the test and I think that the fact that I decided on the engine and fairing is the thing that reassures me the most. We will do more tests in Qatar, but with a clearer idea of what we have to do - explained the Pramac Racing team rider after the third and final day of testing in Malaysia - I was given an ultimatum for the choice, so I think it was fundamental to be able to find the right feeling, because otherwise I would have opted for the old fairing. I think this has potential, it gives you more downforce and if you know how to use it can help you, you just need to understand how far you have to go with the setup to make it work, because I don't want to lose the path we had."
The Madrilenian in fact admitted that he didn’t particularly like intervening in the setup of his bike.
“More than testing the parts, what I don't like to do is touch the bike because I know what I'm riding and I like to know where the limit is - he confessed - On Wednesday we started making some changes and I got a bit stuck, while on Thursday we used a different setup to my usual base setup, to see if we could make the fairing work, and I felt more comfortable than with my old bike. We have taken a step forward, now we have to see in which direction to go or whether to go back a bit more towards my basic setup, but I don't think we will move too far from there."
Second just under two tenths behind Pecco's benchmark, Martinator is in any case satisfied with how his three days in Sepang went.
“I went quite fast, but not just me, there are several riders who went below 1m57s. In the end, however, it's not something that obsesses me, I think it's good to do a time attack, but I did it mostly to see if the fairing really had the potential to go fast. I did it without any expectations, trying to give 100% and that's what I got. Then I went back to my standard bike and I wasn't able to go as fast, but a 1m56.8s is enough to make me happy" said Martin, who was also quite satisfied with his race simulation: "I always lapped under 1m59s, so I think there is a 4 or 5 second difference compared to the race. Even though the conditions were the same in terms of temperature, humidity and everything else, I think the rubber on the track helped. We've probably all made a small step forward. I don't know if it was down to the bike, but I started having a problem with the rear tyre from the fifth or sixth lap onwards and the last few laps were difficult to do. We will also have to analyse this aspect to see if it will be possible to race with that tyre when we come here."
Despite having focused more on himself than on the work of his rivals, the Spanish rider still provided his point of view on some of the most anticipated riders.
“The truth is that I have always lapped alone and I only encountered Marini on the first day. The Honda is fast and has great pace in a straight line. I don't know what problems they have, but it's interesting that there are other brands that are improving and it's normal that we have to work hard" observed Jorge, who added regarding Pedro Acosta's performance: "Well, in the end he's going well, but it was what was expected given the times he did in the Shakedown. It's not easy to maintain these times and he's doing an incredible job."
