Jorge Martin has pledged to throw caution to the wind in the remaining pair of rounds as he seeks to overturn Francesco Bagnaia’s 14-point MotoGP title lead.
The Spaniard is seeking to make history as the first satellite rider to win the ‘MotoGP’ crown.
And while reigning champion Bagnaia has title-winning experience as well as a narrow points advantage, Martin stressed that he now has nothing to lose.
The Pramac rider is already 75 points clear of third place Marco Bezzecchi, meaning he is guaranteed at least the runner-up spot in the world championship standings whatever happens in Qatar and Valencia.
“I don’t know the maths exactly, I just know I need to recover points! So this is my target,” Martin said at the Lusail circuit on Thursday.
“I’m already second in the championship, even if I don’t race the next two rounds.
“So I’m already in second and I can just change that position to first. So I will take all the risk I can and maybe take some gambles to try to do it.
“I just need to attack and try to recover the most points.
“It’s a good chance to acquire a lot of points. But there’s also a good chance to lose a lot of points. So we need to be clever, fast and try to win.
“For sure there is a lot of pressure. If you make a mistake, you will lose the championship.
“So we need to be fast, but don’t make any mistakes, so I guess it’s a really complicated weekend.
“I think it will go to Valencia.”
Bagnaia, who could mathematically win the title on Sunday evening if he pushed his advantage up to at least 37 points, agreed.
“I am not considering this weekend like match point, honestly,” he said.
“I think the only possibility is if Jorge has a problem, because without problems it’s impossible to gain 23 points in a race weekend with the level we have right now.”
“I’m living this weekend like a normal weekend,” added the Italian. “I know perfectly how the pressure can arrive, and right now I feel that the only way to be crowned world champion again is to push and to be at the front.
“So the pressure is different compared to what I was feeling in Valencia [title decider] last year. I would just like to enjoy, push like I want and try to be always at the front with maybe the pole position again.
“It’s a track that I like. We were competitive always here, apart from last year that was in the wrong moment of the season [for our bike]. But the lap record is still mine and I think our bike suits very well to this track.”
The biggest unknown heading into the weekend is the new Lusail asphalt, for which there is now previous MotoGP data.
“We know that the tarmac has been resurfaced and it could be a great question for the tyres. I think it will be demanding for the tyres because it’s new. Let’s see,” Bagnaia said.
Michelin will bring an extra front and rear compound due to the unknown surface.
With eight riders on track, Ducati will be able to evaluate all of the tyre options quicker than the other manufacturers.
“I think being eight riders with the same bike helps to try different things. Maybe we will use one tyre and they [another Ducati team] will use another tyre, so we can improve faster the job,” Bagnaia confirmed.
“But maybe we will start the weekend and Aprilia, KTM or Yamaha is already faster [than us]. So it depends how the bikes will suit the track.”
“For sure having eight bikes will help to decide maybe the tyres, to at least arrive with all of us competitive on Sunday,” Martin said. “I think with eight bikes it’s easier for us.”
Keyword: Qatar MotoGP: Jorge Martin: “I don’t know the maths... I'll take risks, gamble” | Francesco Bagnaia: Lusail not "match point"