The fight for the MotoGP world championship is red hot and with a 20-point advantage over Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martín is well-positioned to reach the title and, coupled with that, has another characteristic that sets him apart from his rival, according to Maverick Viñales: he’s faster in one lap.
In his analysis, Viñales, quoted by Motosan, said he doesn’t know what it’s like to be in the rivals’ position: ‘It’s difficult to give an opinion because I’ve never fought until the last race of a MotoGP world championship, so I don’t know the feeling well. I’ve fought for the championship until four or five races, but it’s hard to give an opinion if we’ve never experienced it’.
However, he particularly highlighted Martín’s remarkable speed when it comes to qualifying, which gives him an “extra” that Bagnaia doesn’t show as often: ‘But what I see from the outside is that Martín has more speed in that aspect, especially in one lap, and that gives a very big advantage. Starting first and taking the first corner in first place gives us an advantage. It’s a quality that Jorge has and he has to make the most of it in the last three races. Try to get pole position in the three races and don’t look back. Then, whatever happens, happens’.
However, for the Spaniard, the title is perfectly within reach of either one, thus not ruling Bagnaia out of the fight: ‘But I think both have the possibility, of course, to win. But one point I see in Jorge is that, so far, he is faster in one lap’.