Martin “has margin” to better COTA MotoGP record-smashing practice lap
MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin says he has “some margin” to better his record-smashing lap time in Americas Grand Prix practice because he made “two small mistakes” in practice.
Pramac Ducati rider Martin demolished Francesco Bagnaia’s pole record at the Circuit of the Americas of 2m01.892s from last year with a 2m01.397s in Friday’s second practice.
Though challenged late on by Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, Martin held on to end Friday fastest of all as he looks to strengthen his 18-point lead in the standings in Saturday’s sprint.
The Spaniard felt he still had more time on the table owing to two errors he made on that record-beating lap, but admits it will be “really challenging” to maintain his advantage into Saturday.
“I did two small mistakes, so I think I have some margin for tomorrow – not a lot,” he said.
“And also if the track keeps improving, because I think it improved quite a lot from FP1 to FP2, so it will improve for tomorrow and we will be a bit faster.
“But I’m happy. In terms of pace, I feel confident.
“I think even if tomorrow a lot of riders will improve, it will be really challenging to be one of the strongest, I feel prepared and ready for everything.”
Reigning world champion Bagnaia lifted himself into the Q2 places with the fourth-best time on Friday, which he described as his best of the season.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Bagnaia noted that the immense grip levels in Qatar masked the issues on braking he struggled with in Portugal, but has rediscovered that form on Friday in Austin.
“Feeling good, best Friday so far from a long time, also last year,” he said.
“This morning we started more or less with the same set-up as Portimao.
“I was quite competitive but not as much, then this afternoon we decided to go back to a set-up that was similar more or less to last year [at COTA] and I started to feel much better.
“The thing is that in Qatar we started a bit improving the setting, but the grip was very high so it was difficult to understand some things.
“In Portimao we started to struggle, also when I was releasing brakes the feeling was not the best. Here it started to become more or less the same [as in Qatar], so I’m very happy.
“We just went with a different strategy to the others with the medium and the pace was very good. So, I’m happy.”
Share Or Save This Story
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
Aprilia team-mates Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin couldn’t be any more different
Aprilia boss admits Hungary GP crash made it “look so stupid”
As Marquez sinks and Martin surges, Bezzecchi knows exactly who to beat for the MotoGP title
NASCAR hauler hits runaway wheel, releases dash cam footage of traffic incident
The 10 strangest and most shocking retirements in Formula 1 history
From overturned penalties to power unit rules, F1 can't stop itself from opening Pandora's box
Mercedes granted FIA hearing over George Russell's Monaco F1 penalty
Why MotoGP's latest Hungarian experiment may not last
What we learned from MotoGP’s unusual Hungarian GP
How Trackhouse is preparing for the post-Davide Brivio era
Why MotoGP's chiefs need to start listening to the riders on sprint issue
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments