One of the riders who was behind Jorge Martín and eventually overtook him in the MotoGP Qatar GP race was Fabio Quartararo. The 2021 champion spent some time behind the Prima Pramac rider when the Spaniard was clearly facing significant difficulties before Quartararo managed to pass him.
The French rider told the press that he isn’t aware of the reasons behind Martín’s performance issues but believes there was undoubtedly some kind of issue:
– He was struggling. He was not riding like yesterday. I don’t know which was the problem, but of course he wasn’t the same Jorge as yesterday. For sure he had a big issue, because you don’t make this kind of race less than 24 hours after. So for sure he had an issue. When I overtook him I wanted to be sure, because I didn’t want to make a mess, but he was struggling more than yesterday. The way he rides, I was faster. Yesterday I wasn’t faster than him and today I felt worse than yesterday. So I think the difference was big. But I think it’s not me that I tell you the correct answer.