MotoGP Austin – the rodeo in Texas can begin / MotoGP

In the official opening of the press conference, Jorge Martin, this time the new leader of the World Championship, was the first pilot to speak. The Spaniard saw off Portugal with a resounding victory in the Algarve to eliminate the world champions with a lead of around 18 World Cup points. The Pramac racer is just as confident. Jorge Martin: “I am very happy with the start of the season. Together we have done a good job up to this point.” The World Cup leader also made it clear that the cards were being changed in the US: “Last year, things weren’t right for me at all. A lot went wrong (falling on the first lap at the GP) and I wasn’t healthy either. My recent events it hasn’t been much better, so now I have to look for good results. The good thing is that now I feel I’m in better shape.”

After “Martinator” it was the turn of Brad Binder to create his own expectations. After his double podium in Qatar, the KTM factory rider did not have a great career in Portugal. With a zero after crashing in the race and inheriting fourth place, Binder retained the role of first runner-up, but overall the South African went to the US with plenty of work to do. Binder: “It’s no secret – I didn’t enter the match fully in Portugal. The rhythm was not there and I quickly focused on Austin. From 2022 to 2023 we have made a big step here and I hope we can continue from there. In general, we are competitive and I am looking forward to this special and demanding track physically and I will do my best to improve.”

Enea Bastianini is in the top three of the World Cup table for the first time. His fellow world champion had to miss last year’s US Grand Prix due to injuries. A year earlier, “La Bestia” was on stage as an idle driver. The Italian is cool and confident, outwardly Bastianini is not bothered by the difficult match, especially against Jorge Martin, knowing that he will remain in the Ducati factory team. Like his colleagues, Enea Bastianini emphasized that the real challenge in Austin is in the track itself: “The physical aspect here is extraordinary. The big task here is to distribute the power correctly in the first deep sector. But I think we are very close to the top again. “

In the second wave, Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, rookie Pedro Acosta and Yamaha factory pilot Fabio Quartararo also answered questions. The Frenchman gave the most exciting statement from the quartet of drivers, which together means to win 13 world championship titles. After extending his recently announced contract, “El Diablo” seemed excited about his future prospects.
“Even if the truth has been harsh for a long time, in Portugal I had a long and serious conversation with the top management of Yamaha and it is clear that a lot is happening. Actions are being taken and there are huge resources and the necessary budget to bring our project forward again. Big changes it’s already happening here. I can’t talk about the details, but we’ll see the results next year.”
In this context, the Frenchman also mentioned the engineer Massimo Bartolini, who moved from Ducati to Yamaha at the beginning of the year.

Otherwise, the opening talks at the COTA press center were an event in the sense of careful restraint and lowered expectations. Marc Márquez who leans gently as a lamb against the role of favorite, Francesco Bagnaia as a concentrated professional, with the intention of getting the right feeling as soon as possible on Friday morning on his GP24 Ducati on the newly paved track. And Pedro Acosta, as a carefree party founder, who has long been fully recognized in this role by local stars.

Clock monitors in Central Europe show what it looks like from 5:45 pm