Jorge Martin: Where “another level” Bezzecchi makes the difference

Jorge Martin said he settled some nerves by claiming a direct Qualifying 2 place courtesy of the fifth fastest time in Friday practice for the season-opening Thai MotoGP.

However, the former world champion was left 0.7s behind factory Aprilia team-mate and new Buriram lap record holder Marco Bezzecchi.

Even reigning world champion Marc Marquez was over 0.4s adrift of the Italian, whom Martin described as on “another level”.

“Still, a time attack is a bit of my weak point,” Jorge Martin told MotoGP.com. “I do some automatic things that still are not the best for this bike and riding style.

“But it's a process, I need to understand how to do it. Marco is on completely another level, so the potential of the bike in time attack is amazing. I just need to close that gap.”

"I do a bit of the opposite!"

Martin, who was forced to miss the Sepang test due to a follow-up surgeries on last year’s wrist and collarbone injuries, has been studying Bezzecchi’s data to see where he is making the difference.

“Braking for sure is the biggest step,” Martin explained. 

“I think it can be like the first part of braking, where he's really late, and he's able to be super smooth. 

"While on my side, I'm really aggressive and earlier! So I do a bit of the opposite! It's a process. I will arrive, but it's just a matter of time.”

"Now the real game starts"

Nonetheless, Martin, making his Aprilia debut at Buriram after being injured in testing a year ago, made clear he viewed Friday as “a great day.

“My speed was there from lap one in the morning. Then, in the tricky afternoon conditions, we were quite clever to understand the situation. 

"Now the real game starts. So let's go for it.”

Final practice, Qualifying and the season-opening Sprint race takes place on Saturday.