Jorge Martin: Wins in smaller classes “better” than first MotoGP pole
Pramac rookie Jorge Martin admits winning races in Moto2 and Moto3 felt “better” than scoring his maiden MotoGP pole position on Saturday ahead of the Doha Grand Prix.
The Spaniard will start Sunday’s second round of the 2021 MotoGP season at the head of the pack after beating Pramac team-mate Johann Zarco to pole in Qatar with a 1m53.106s.
Martin is the first rookie MotoGP pole winner to do so on a Ducati and the first debutant to take top honours in qualifying since Fabio Quartararo in 2019.
He stepped up to MotoGP with Pramac this year having won the 2018 Moto3 title and scoring 10 race victories in Moto3 and Moto2.
When asked to compare his first MotoGP pole with his wins in the lower categories, Martin said: “It’s difficult to say because to win is something different.
“To win is the most you can do in a GP and you did the work perfectly.
“For sure the first pole in MotoGP is something different also, but I think it’s much better a win in Moto2 or Moto3 than to make a pole position in MotoGP.”
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Martin’s Doha pole comes having only had 10 days on his Ducati MotoGP bike in 2021, following the severely curtailed pre-season.
But the Pramac rider admits he expected a MotoGP bike to harder to ride than it is so far proving to be for him.
“It’s nice to ride these bikes,” he added.
“I mean, I thought it was much more difficult to ride a MotoGP bike.
“For sure at the beginning you feel everything is new and difficult, but you can push actually to another level just because of the tyres, the power, the brakes, the gearbox – everything is better.
“So, in the lap I felt quite ok. Maybe the front was already used from the first run and you push a little bit and that’s why I felt on the limit.
“But I wasn’t doing many crazy things and the bike was really stable.”
Martin immediately put thoughts of a maiden MotoGP win on Sunday out his mind after qualifying, and once again reiterated that his practice pace suggests he doesn’t have “the potential” to fight for victory yet.
“Tomorrow I think is the time to be a rookie,” he said of the race.
“I don’t have pressure and not even the potential yet to win because my pace is still… in FP4 for sure we did a step, but still from these [top] guys I’m maybe four tenths [behind].
“So, it’s impossible to think about a win.
“Anything can happen in a race, but I need them to crash or six or seven riders [to crash], to win and it’s not what I want.
“What I want is to beat them when I am ready.”
Related video
Miller "hero" of Doha MotoGP qualifying after 'scary' near-miss – Quartararo
Struggling Morbidelli has to “wing it” in Doha MotoGP race
How Quartararo is evoking an absent MotoGP great in 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success
The human importance of Marquez’s latest enforced MotoGP absence
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Autosport, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock left by Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. Autosport analyses what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP’s Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How Honda's praise for its 2022 MotoGP bike has turned into doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's Portugal win wasn't only vital for his MotoGP title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
How a MotoGP legend is preparing for an unexpected comeback at Goodwood
Wayne Rainey, who’s paralysed from the chest down, will ride his 1992 500cc world championship-winning bike again at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The American motorcycle legend explains how he's preparing to thrill on his first visit to the famed hillclimb