Luca Marini on Jorge Martin: “His feeling with the bike is incredible” | MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia finished on the podium in eight out of nine races (including five wins) from Assen to Sepang last season, allowing him to catch and then snatch the 2022 title from Fabio Quartararo.

However, Ducati’s factory star is now on the receiving end of a similar crushing moment from 2023 championship rival Jorge Martin.

The Pramac Ducati rider stormed to ten podiums (eight wins) in the last twelve races (including Sprints) to stay just 13 points behind Bagnaia with three rounds to go.

But it is not only Bagnaia who, without a doubt, is keeping a close eye on Martin’s data.

Ducati’s open data sharing policy, which is designed to include a custom report from Ducati Corse, outlining each rider’s strengths and weaknesses from data after each event, means that all other competitors of Desmosedici can also see where Martin earns.

VR46’s Luca Marini explained that, rather than a specific technical riding technique or setup that gives Martin the edge, it’s the Spaniard’s sky-high confidence that encourages the #89 to push the limits.

“At this moment, Martin is doing an amazing job, also his feeling with the bike is incredible,” said Marini. “Every time you look [his] data, can turn the bike on a [drinking] glass, as we say in Italian.

Asked if Martin’s extreme lean-angle style was the key to his cornering ability, Marini insisted:

“No, because of Jorge [riding style] it’s the same – even last year he was riding in an amazing way, but [his results were] not so fantastic.

“It depends a lot on the balance of the bike, the feel and the confidence you have on the bike, which can help you push more and ride well. But they all ride very well [in MotoGP].”

Instead, Marini added weight to the theory that Pramac has found a set-up that suits Martin’s style perfectly and they won’t stray from it.

“It’s just that he found it very good [bike] balance that works very well on any circuit,” said Marini.

“We need to continue working like this. But we ourselves are doing a good job. It’s normal that he goes a little faster than us because he has a factory bike and after all the upgrades now to his bike and mine [2022] bike, the gap is a little bigger.

“But it’s not an excuse for us because with our bike we can make a podium at every GP.”

Although still looking for his second Grand Prix podium after a career-best runner-up finish at COTA, Marini has been in the top three in Saturday’s final two Sprint races (Indonesia and Thailand ).