The pits of the official Ducati Lenovo team (Pecco Bagnaia) and the Pramac Racing satellite (Jorge Martín) are wall to wall and the tension at that point in the pit lane could be cut when the second practice session of the Valencia GP ended this Friday. The Spaniard had finished second in the classification, fulfilling the objective of getting into the top ten that goes directly to Q2. The Italian, for his part, finished 15th, which condemned him to the play-off for Q1 this Saturday. But beyond the positions, there was a lot of psychological warfare at the limit of the regulations from which the Madrid pilot from San Sebastián de los Reyes clearly emerged the winner.
From the first free practice it was seen that Bagnaia was not comfortable, the complete opposite of Martín, always at the front of the classification. In that session where he put him ten positions ahead (third compared to 13th) the Spaniard saw his rival’s weakness, so he devised a strategy within his box to try to make the Italian uncomfortable in the afternoon practice, whose ‘top 10’ he earns his place in Q2.
In the last minutes, when everyone was looking for his fastest lap, Martín became the shadow of his rival. He waited for him to leave the box and followed him throughout the circuit, even when Bagnaia intentionally slipped into a corner or went back through the pit lane. The Spaniard’s Ducati was sealed to the tail of the Italian’s, who was gesturing visibly uncomfortable. This is how they completed the last three laps, they had to cut them in two due to the presence of yellow flags and the only one they did clean, Martín finished second and Bagnaia 15th.
The man from Madrid could not hide that the plan had gone perfectly this Friday. «The truth is that they have been moments of tension, because it is not something that I like to do, but it is clear that we had the need to put some pressure in some way and it has turned out as we expected. It hasn’t been easy because there were pilots in the middle and it seemed like war, but well, I think in the end he got a little nervous,” Martín acknowledged. The title is still very difficult for the Spaniard, who has to overcome 21 points, but after the first day of the Valencia GP there is more optimism within his box.
On the other shore, the worried faces said it all. Not so much because he had lost that psychological battle with his rival, but because of the fact that Bagnaia could not find a way to be fast on the weekend that the World Cup was being played: «Today I was so slow that in any case it would have been difficult for me to enter , but I’m not surprised by what he’s done, because that’s how he’s been doing the last three races. It is normal for him to try to do something, although it would be better for him to focus on his own thing, because he has to win both races and at the moment he is not the fastest. In the fifteen minutes of Q1 Bagnaia must win the two remaining places in Q2. If not, he will be forced to start very late in the sprint and race grids, which would exponentially increase Martín’s title chances.
«Olé for Martín»
Aside from the fight for the title, the first day of practice at the Ricardo Tormo circuit was led by a sensational Maverick Viñales, who lowered the track’s absolute record by three tenths and is running as Jorge’s main rival to beat. Martin. Another of Friday’s big names was Marc Márquez, seventh in the time table and with a realistic pace to fight for the podium on the weekend of his farewell from Honda.
The one from Cervera, who warned that his priority on Sunday is to finish the race and say goodbye to the team with a good result, also valued Martín’s strategy: «I prayed for him and that’s it. He is within limits. Some will say that he is unsportsmanlike, but to win a World Cup you look for any way. Martín is behind and what he has to do this weekend is destabilize Pecco in the way he can, always within the regulations, and this Friday he has achieved it. If there is an authoritative voice in the paddock, it is that of Márquez, who has won six titles in the premier class and who summarized what had been experienced in Valencia with one phrase: «In the end this is motorcycling; “Whoever likes it well and who doesn’t like it too.”
Jesus Gutierrez
2023-11-24 18:47:44
#Jorge #Martíns #marking #Pecco #Bagnaia #trouble
