Jorge Martín had many difficulties in the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix race, being a shadow of the performance he had the day before in the Sprint race in Losail. On the other hand, Francesco Bagnaia, his rival in the title fight, experienced the opposite, with a clear improvement from Saturday to Sunday. And tires could be key to these fluctuations.
Questioned at a press conference how he feels about the title potentially being decided by tire details that prevent a direct fight on track, the #1 replied: ‘Unfortunately we have to deal with this kind of situation and it’s something you can’t control. You start, prepare perfectly all weekend, and then you start the race and start feeling different. So, it’s something we have to improve. We know perfectly well that at the moment this kind of problems is increasing because the pace and the limit are higher. We are getting faster and faster. Last year we were something like ten, 15, 20 seconds slower in some circuits like in Malaysia. A small thing in the tires can make a big, big difference‘.
Using his own example, Bagnaia emphasized that when facing tire problems, you have to extract the most from the situation: ‘What I said on Saturday: the rear tire was not perfect for me like in the morning and it can make me lose two or three tenths every lap, and it’s nothing considering the pace and level. But it can make a big difference. So, we have to deal with this and in this kind of situation you have to do your best‘.
