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 addressed 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 had in 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, go in and two more laps with a second tire. What I observed, checked, and rechecked many times, in different sessions and with different riders, is that after the first qualifying tire, when the rider goes in and is in his normal performance zone, and is quite satisfied with his position, he goes out with the second tire satisfied, I would say, or more or less’.
And he continued: ‘He will ride correctly, smoothly, and in general, improve his time a little. If he goes in and is not in his place, a little low, etc., in his position, he starts again with the second tire, he tries harder, gets a little nervous, a little less flexible, attacks more, etc., and systematically says that the second tire didn’t work, that it didn’t have grip, because he was more aggressive with his bike’.
E ha spiegato che, per “compensare” ciò che ha fatto, finisce per essere più aggressivo: “Lo stesso accade quando un pilota non parte bene: beh, per compensare, diventa un po’ più aggressivo, meno concentrato nella sua guida e inizia a pensare che la gomma non stia funzionando, perché è troppo aggressivo, perde un po’ di aderenza e continua a trascinarsi lungo la corsa dicendosi: ‘Non ce la farò a causa di questa gomma’, e diventa ancora più aggressivo, inizia a entrare un po’ nel panico e ha problemi. Alla fine dirà: ‘Beh, la gomma non ha funzionato’.‘.
