MotoGP Qatar GP
Martin fears chatter problems make Qatar MotoGP sprint repeat “impossible”
Jorge Martin says it will be “impossible” to replicate his Qatar Grand Prix sprint win in Sunday’s full-length MotoGP race if Pramac cannot find an answer to persistent chatter problems.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: Mar 10, 2024, 2:27 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Polesitter Martin led Saturday’s first sprint of the 2024 season from start to finish to score his 10thhalf-distance race win since the format was introduced last year.
Read Also:
But the Spaniard admitted that rear chatter problems on used tyres that plagued him throughout pre-season testing reared their head in Saturday’s sprint.
As such, he felt he was “really close to crashing” on a number of occasions across the 11-lap contest and thinks fighting for a win in the grand prix on Sunday like this will be “impossible”.
“I was fast, but the rear chatter is still there,” Martin said in parc ferme. “So, we need to work on it.
“I think today I was really close to crashing in a lot of corners. So, I was struggling a lot.
“Today we achieved it [the win], but for sure tomorrow if we keep like this [the chatter problem] it will be impossible.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“So, let’s work on it. I feel confident, I feel fast. The only thing is the bike, so we’re going to work on it tonight and let’s see if we can enjoy a big one.”
Martin says the problem started “quite early in the race”, and admits that without the pole position and keeping Brad Binder behind him, he wouldn’t have been able to win the sprint.
“Well, I think quite early in the race I started to have a bit of a problem,” he explained. “I don’t want to get into it because I don’t know if I can, but for sure I cannot ride perfectly, I feel a bit too much on the limit.
“We have some ideas for tomorrow but it’s quite tight to try in the warm-up and then race. So, tomorrow will be a difficult race.
Read Also:
“I think without that pole position, or even if Brad overtook me in that first corner, I wouldn’t win, for sure. That’s why I tried to keep that position and close the place to Brad.
“Then I was able to keep half a second [gap to Binder], that surprised me. I thought they were going to catch me, but finally they didn’t.”
Asked if he could see this problem in the data of other Ducatis, he said: “It’s an issue we have to solve and we are looking into it. A bit more [of a GP24 issue]. Last season I didn’t have it.”
Bagnaia also hampered
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who was fourth in the sprint on his factory team Ducati, was also hampered by rear chatter. But he thinks this was more related to tyre pressures than a fundamental issue with the GP24.
“I struggled a lot with the tyre pressure, both tyres,” Bagnaia said.
“Normally it’s just the front, and I started to have big chattering from the rear. So, I tried to do the maximum. Maybe the maximum was to finish on the podium, I don’t know.
“But as soon as I arrived behind Brad, I struggled more; more movement from the front, the rear was not having traction, in the first part of the acceleration it was pumping.
“So, maybe we have to improve that. The bike is new, I’m new in this situation because I’ve never had chattering on the rear or rear tyre pressure high.
“For tomorrow we already know the way to follow, because I spent a lot of time in the box understanding the situation, and I think the idea we have for tomorrow is good.”
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article MotoGP Qatar GP: Martin controls sprint, Marquez fifth on Ducati debut
Next article Marquez: Qatar MotoGP track no longer a 'nightmare' on Ducati
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Duncan
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
MotoGP
MotoGP Sep 19, 2024
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
Jul 5, 2024
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
Jul 5, 2024
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
More from
Jorge Martin
Jorge Martin will be "almost 100% fit" in Portugal as heroic Qatar display keeps title hopes alive
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
6 d
Jorge Martin will be "almost 100% fit" in Portugal as heroic Qatar display keeps title hopes alive
Jorge Martin on sprint battle with Marc Marquez as rival's airbag deployed: 'It was now or never!'
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
7 d
Jorge Martin on sprint battle with Marc Marquez as rival's airbag deployed: 'It was now or never!'
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 12 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 12 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
14 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
16 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe