Opens the fourth weekend of the 2024 MotoGP seasonwhich hits Europe for the second time this year with the Jerez GP, Spain. We therefore remain in the Iberian peninsula after the second round in Portugal, and where we start again from leadership of Jorge Martin. Meanwhile today the usual thing took place Thursday press conferencewith the riders (or rather, a selection of the most prominent ones at the moment) who answered the journalists’ questions on the eve of their commitments on the track which will start tomorrow.
Martin: “Our bike has great potential, but we need to be careful with the tyres”
Martin admitted that the previous GP in Austin was “difficult” for him, “even if I managed to save him after the crashes in qualifying”. At home he will therefore want to improve on last year’s fourth place, “where I had a good pace but struggled to overtake”. And he confessed that in the first part of this season he had several difficulties, explaining that he was busy working on himself: “I’m trying to do better and stay a little calmer and breathe more than in the past“. Also ensuring that the “incomprehensible” problem of chattering (i.e. the vibration of the wheels), “what comes and goes”, perhaps it can be resolved in Austin.
Going into detail about the bike’s unexpected events, Martin stated that in the Sprint simulation during the tests in Malaysia “there was a problem: initially I thought it was the tyre, but then it came back in Qatar. It depends on how you approach the race, if you start very fast then you suffer a bit. We have to be very careful with the tyres. We’ve gotten results with this problem, so think what we could do without it. This bike has great potential.”
Martin then talked about the aspect relating to safety of the track, “very narrow and with close walls”. “But – he added – I am sure that Dorna has done an excellent job in terms of safety and I hope it will be a calm weekend for everyone from this point of view”.
Bastianini: “Chattering? Martin may have more problems than me”
He also spoke in the first part of the press conference Enea Bastianini, second in the standings with a gap of 21 points from Martin. After the first three races of 2024, the best official Ducati rider said he was “satisfied” with his approach so far. “Finishing from two podiums in a row: now we are in Jerez, a very beautiful and technical track. Last year I wasn’t able to race here, I don’t know how I’ll feel but we have an excellent base and I think we can achieve a good result here too.”
He also had some problems with chatter, particularly in Qatar, “but it wasn’t a big problem for me, not even in Portugal. It also depends on the riding style and a rider like Jorge, who pushes the tires a lot, can have more problems than me“. And on safety: “In all GPs we try to improve and have an excellent relationship with the safety commission.”
Vinales: “The Aprilia is strong in the fast corners and also in the rest”
Maverick Viñaleswinner in Austin and fully relaunching his career (he is third in the standings, 24 points behind Martin), praised the safety management in Jerez: “They did a fantastic job: The escape routes have been increased in the points we had indicated in the past and we feel safer“. Then, on the triumph in the previous race: “Not every weekend can be like Austin, but the important thing is to fight for the top positions. Jerez is an excellent possibility to continue fighting for the top positions. We can be competitive here too.”
From a technical point of view, the pilot praised his own Aprilia: “We have a fast bike, which in some places is even better than our rivals. But in others the rivals are better, for example Jorge is strong in the stop and go corners. The Aprilia is strong in fast corners and is good everywhere at the moment: the goal is to be able to take advantage of the fast corners to do races like those done in Austin.”
“Renewal? This is not the time to think about it. Let’s see what the other riders do”
Vinales then glossed over the hypothesis of a future of Marc Marquez in Aprilia (“I hadn’t heard this, but it means that we are doing a good job. However, it’s too early to think about these things”), and he concluded: “The longer I stay in front, the stronger I will be: we must continue to grow and be united as team. There’s so much trust and the last thing I want is to think about something else. The signature for the renewal? I’m in no hurry, I also want to wait and see what the other riders will do. Now I want to be focused on the track, I don’t think about the future.”
Bagnaia: “We are facing problems, but I am confident”
We therefore close with the words of Francesco Bagnaiaguest of the second part of the press conference together with the 2024 revelation Pedro Acosta. Pecco, who is currently in the rankings fifth, trailing Martin by 30 points, is confident of a change of pace in Jerez, where he has won in the last two seasons. “It’s one of my favorite races – he admitted – and I think we can be competitive, as in the last two years. We are facing some issues that are slowing us down a bit. But I think we can take a step forward. This is a track that I have always dreamed of since I was young. It has strong braking and fast corners, it’s one of my favorite circuits.”
“Chattering? It seems to come from the new tyre”
And again, on the risk of vibrations with the motorbike: “Chattering? The vibration comes from the rear and seems to come from the new tyre. It’s hard to predict, sometimes you feel it on one side and other times on the other. The point is to try to avoid it by applying less speed when cornering or by doing different things. However, Pirro did some tests here and didn’t complain about the problem. We will see, there could be a lot of grip and our bike is very suited to these characteristics.”
Bagnaia then spoke about the new tyres, “better performing, as we saw from the first tests: more grip means greater safety. On each track the escape routes are improved and greater grip gives better sensations and this translates into more safety. And racing in Jerez is always fun, you can have a lot of battles: last year I overtook many riders, here whoever is on the bike can make the difference.”
“Aprilia best bike of 2024? Ask Dall’Igna…”
Then on the feeling with the bike, on a scale from 1 to 10: “Ups and downs: in Qatar 10, the other two weekends 6. But I think that with the team we can get back to the top, I have great confidence. Our condition today is not at its best, so we need to improve.”
And finally, on the words of Massimo Rivola according to which Aprilia is the best bike lined up: “From the outside it seems they have found balance, with a lot of grip and stability. But if you ask Dall’Igna the same thing he will answer Ducati…”.
GP Jerez, the guide to the fourth round of the 2024 MotoGP
