Jorge Martin reveals cause of double crash in Japan MotoGP practice

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin says his brace of crashes in Practice at the Japanese Grand Prix were a result of a ‘lack of confidence’ with the front of his Aprilia.

The Spaniard, a previous winner of the Japanese Grand Prix during his Ducati days, made a strong start to Friday in second in FP1 behind old title rival Pecco Bagnaia.

But Jorge Martin couldn’t carry that form into the hour-long Practice on Friday afternoon, with the Aprilia rider crashing twice - once at Turn 5 and again at Turn 7.

The disruption to his session and the change of bikes due to the crashes ultimately meant he could do no more than 13th at the chequered flag.

Missing the Q2 cut, Martin said of his day: “In the morning, I felt good, but in the afternoon, I lacked confidence with the front and crashed twice.

“The two crashes cost me a lot of track time, and by the time I rejoined, the time attack was already underway, so I had to go out on a bike and set-up I’d never tried before.

“Even so, in the first time attack, I placed fourth, but during the second attempt, there were a lot of yellow flags.

“The feeling was positive nonetheless, and on Saturday we’ll try to take another step forward.”

The Spaniard noted that his team made changes to his bike for Practice, but doesn’t believe these caused his crash even if “something was wrong with the front tyre”.

Martin’s struggles came as team-mate Marco Bezzecchi continued to shine on the factory RS-GP.

The British Grand Prix winner was fastest at the end of Practice ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta, and is also looking good on long run pace heading into the races at Motegi.

Martin felt after the Misano test two weeks ago that he was no able to ride the Aprilia at “80%” of his full potential, after ergonomic changes allowed him to be more comfortable on the bike.

He will face a tough Q1 group in qualifying on Saturday morning that features the likes of Gresini duo Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez, as well as KTM's Ene Bastianini and VR46's Franco Morbidelli.