The words of Jorge Martín, fourth at the start of the Sepang test, They can scare any MotoGP rider who does not have a Ducati in his box. As if last year’s was not already good enough, the man from Madrid assures that this year’s engine is even better…
-First sensations of this test?
-It has been a very positive day, really. Since I’ve been out on the track I’ve felt very, very comfortable. Since we have put the race rubber on very well. And we have focused on testing the engine in the morning. It has been difficult because we have not compared with the same tyres, so at the beginning I felt good about the engine but it was not very good with the maps. And then in the afternoon I have reconfirmed that the new engine is better, both in braking and in acceleration I have felt much better than last year. A big difference. All the problems that I had braking, that I couldn’t stop the bike, that it blocked in front of me, we have taken a giant step without doing anything on the bike.
-How can the engine help you when braking?
-In the end we always looked at the balance of the bike, which was like that of Pecco, Enea or any Ducati rider, but I didn’t stop the bike, and you could see the ‘front lock’ in the telemetry, but we didn’t know at all moment how to remove it. And in Valencia I noticed that changing the engine stopped the bike better. Here I have reconfirmed it, I am braking 10 or 15 meters later with each stop, and I am happy for that. You have to understand very well how the engine affects the rear wheel, surely before it pushed when braking and that’s why I couldn’t stop it. At the level of balance we have not touched anything, simply at the level of the engine, how it acts on the rear wheel, I imagine it helps you to stop the bike better.
-Reconfirm what happened in Valencia here, in a circuit where he was already very fast last year…
-Exactly, and even today’s weather I did it with the old bike.
-I mean, there’s a lot of potential…
-Yes, there is a lot of potential because with used rubber I have managed to go much faster with this than with 2022, which was where I suffered last year, with worn tires. This is what has allowed me to confirm this afternoon that this engine is better.
-And in acceleration? Because there was a little problem there, right?
-Well, too. The connection of my hand with the power is much better than last year, it’s more real, and I can manage it myself and not leave it in the hands of the electronics. I can have more free the motorcycle.
-Everything sounds super positive and they have just started….
-So far today has been positive. With the fairings, for example, I have not been very comfortable with the new ones, and we will have to reconfirm tomorrow whether to continue with what we have or whether to change to the new one. Good, good, I’m happy, in the third start I was already fast.