MotoGP rookie Martin “never expected” Styrian GP pole requirement

The Spaniard already has a pole in MotoGP after leading qualifying at the Doha GP in April, but only made six Grand Prix starts in 2021 due to a four-race injury break.

Ducati has won all but one race in Austria since 2016, with the expectation that it will be in the mix for pole and victory every year.

Even so, Martin admitted that his record lap of 1: 22.994 minutes in a hectic Q2 on Saturday was something he didn’t expect to be possible this weekend.

“Yes, in general it was a really good day for me,” said Martin. “I’m usually pretty competitive here, I used to be fast.

“But everything is different in MotoGP and I didn’t expect to be so competitive.

“But today I felt pretty competitive with the medium tire from morning on, and when we put the soft tire on, we were right at the top.

“And I also felt confident in FP4, so I said: ‘Maybe I’ll be one of the candidates for pole position’.

“And in the first stint I pushed quite a bit, but I made a lot of mistakes. And even if I went on the green [run-off] I did 1m23,1s which wasn’t too bad.

“On the second try I did my best, I went to the limit and even if I had a moment where I almost fell, I managed to stop the bike and finish pole position unbelievable.

“I never expected that before I hit this track, but happy and ready for tomorrow.”

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Martin admits that he “may not be 100%” fit after his wrist injury sustained in an accident in Portugal, but also noted that he can go into the race “free” after taking his first MotoGP podium in Qatar Has.

“Yeah, as you can see, the summer break was really good for me,” he added. “I had to give up the last race in Assen because of my physical condition and was angry with the situation.

“I was able to turn this situation into motivation and worked a lot during the summer break, so I feel a lot better.

“Of course, maybe not 100%, maybe I’ll fight a bit in the final laps, but I feel really good.

“I’m confident that after the podium in Qatar my mind was clearer and I’m not just concentrating on the podium – just to work and improve.”