The Assen MotoGP track feature that saved Jorge Martin

A Practice crash at the Assen MotoGP for Jorge Martin could’ve been worse had one piece of the track been designed differently, the Spaniard thinks.

Martin crashed at the super-fast right-hander of turn 12 in MotoGP Practice at Assen, losing the front as he clipped the kerb on the inside of the turn.

Martin and his bike slid along the asphalt run-off area, then continued sliding when they respectively reached the grass after the asphalt.

It’s the grass for which Martin is thankful, the Spaniard fearful of “making some backflips” had gravel been there instead.

“Luckily there was a lot of run-off area and after all the asphalt we had there was some green and not gravel because I think if there was some gravel I would have started making some backflips and it was not good,” Jorge Martin said after Practice.

“It's a pity because overall today I was really feeling well, I was always trying to improve the feeling and I was competitive. 

“I hope to not lose any feeling for tomorrow, but I think we did a step in braking compared to Brno so I'm really happy.”

Explaining the improvements compared to Brno, Martin added: “We tried something in the morning to put some more weight in the front and it helped me a lot to understand what is the limit. 

“It was a small step, it helped me a bit, maybe also mentally it helped me so I feel like I have more support from the front. 

“Now my issue here is another, the stability, so we will try to work on it for tomorrow.”

The stability issue is one that Marco Bezzecchi also raised after Practice, although the Italian finished fastest anyway.

Martin thinks his Aprilia Racing team-mate has a step compared to the others at Assen, but he also thinks this step is exaggerated in time attack trim compared to in race pace.

“When I stopped in the box I saw that we were always in the top-three, top-four, like all the Aprilias, so this means the bike is working well,” Martin said.

“I think Marco [Bezzecchi] is making a difference now. He's two or three tenths faster than the rest, more in time attack than the pace, but he's quite strong so I have to understand and try to close the gap.”