Broken dream
The dream lasted until sixth lap of the last race of the season, then Jorge Martin had to raise the white flag. The crash, which he caused and which also involved the unfortunate Marc Marquez, was decisive in putting an end to the world championship hopes of the #89 of the Prima-Pramac team. The Ducati rider, however, had seen his title hopes begin to slip out of his hands a few laps earlier, when in an attempt to keep up with Pecco Bagnaia he risked crashing into him, finishing very wide in turn 1 and dropping from second to eighth. From here his attempt to recover began, but was made in vain – even before his contact with Marquez – by duel with Maverick Viñales. A battle, the one with the Spaniard from Aprilia, not particularly appreciated by Martin.
Dart in Viñales
“Today Pecco was fast – commented Martin to the microphones of Sky Sports MotoGP – I got off to a good start and almost hit him, even though I tried to stay out of the slipstream. Afterwards I still felt in shape to win the race, but I didn’t understand Viñales who, as soon as I passed him, immediately jumped back in to regain his position. Before the race he told me that he didn’t want to disturb me, that he wanted to help. With Marc it was a shame, he didn’t want the crash. I feel sorry for him and for me too. Errors? In Indonesia and Australia I felt stronger than the rest of the group, but I made unnecessary mistakes. In Indonesia I tried to give 10 seconds per second, while in Australia I tried to win with a different tire to everyone else. Having too much confidence led me to make mistakes. I hope to learn next year“.
What a duel with Pecco
However, the analysis of Martin’s season began by underlining his and his team’s merits in having kept the title race open until Valencia: “I cried all I had to cry in the pits with my team and then came out with my head held high – declared the Spanish driver – because I think that today there is still something to celebrate. We have to celebrate the many victories, the podiums and having arrived until the last day like a warrior. I could have given up the championship when I was at -60 points, or in Australia when I was at -27, or when I arrived here at -21, but I didn’t.”
“Congratulations to Pecco – added the 2023 vice-champion – because the start to the year he has made is incredible. Having maintained that consistency even after the fall in Barcelona allowed him to win the world championship. For me this is just the beginning, I believe I am someone who can beat everyone and I hope to prove it in the future. Winning against a good opponent is what makes the championship more special. If I had won it would have been incredible to beat Pecco, but he also won against someone who never gave up, and this makes the championship beautiful. There has always been respect between us“.
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