Guy Coulon is an undeniable figure in MotoGP, especially in the Tech3 universe over the past few years. With many years of experience at the highest level, the Frenchman has seen it all and commented on what happened with Jorge Martín in Qatar.
In an interview with Paddock-GP, Coulon spoke about what happened with the Pramac Racing rider: ‘Well, I can answer that with the experience I have from previous years, which I no longer have today. What often happened, with almost all riders, was that during the qualifying session in particular, when two soft tires are usually used: two laps, enter and two more laps with a second tire. What I could observe, verify, and re-verify many times, in different sessions and with different riders, is that after the first qualifying tire, when the rider enters and is in their normal performance zone, and is quite satisfied with their position, they go out with the second tire satisfied, I would say, or more or less‘.
And he continued: ‘They will ride correctly, smoothly, and in general, improve their time a little. If they enter and are not in their place, a bit low, etc., in their position, they start again with the second tire, they push themselves, they get a little nervous, a little less flexible, they attack more, etc., and systematically say that the second tire didn’t work, that it didn’t have grip, because they were more aggressive with their bike‘.
Y explicó que, para ‘compensar’ lo que hizo, termina siendo más agresivo: ‘Lo mismo ocurre cuando un piloto no arranca bien: bueno, para compensar, es un poco más agresivo, menos concentrado en su conducción, y comienza a pensar que el neumático no está funcionando, porque está siendo agresivo, pierde un poco de agarre y comienza a arrastrarse durante la carrera y a decirse a sí mismo: “No voy a poder por culpa de este neumático”, y a ser aún más agresivo y a entrar un poco en pánico y a tener problemas. Al final, dirá: “Bueno, el neumático no funcionó”‘.
