MotoGP | Martin: “I made a mistake, I only thought about the race and not the World Championship”

The Misano race could have been the race of a lifetime or the defeat of the season (so far) for Jorge Martin: unfortunately for the Spaniard, the second option won. The few drops of rain that fell on the seventh lap shuffled the cards, forcing the riders to be more cautious with slick tires on a treacherous track. However, there were some who took a gamble, entering the pits to change the tire and coming out with the wet compounds.

This was the case for the championship leader, who until the track was dry was fighting for the lead of the race with Pecco Bagnaia, who threatened from the start. Just when he was launching the attack, the rain changed the face of the race and Martin decided to come in to fit the wet tire. The choice immediately proved wrong because the few drops of rain did not continue to fall.

“It’s clear that the strategy wasn’t the right one,” the Pramac rider began speaking to the media at the end of the race. “You have to learn from these things, but I gave my all anyway and I got a point. I should have been clear about following Pecco. I made the strategy to win the race without thinking about the World Championship. I should have followed Pecco’s strategy. From there I tried to do a good race, I was behind a group, but I had no idea if I could pass them or not, because I feared a black flag, so I waited until the end and I couldn’t lap fast also for this reason.”

Initially, Martin was convinced of his choice: “I came in because it was raining. What can I say? Morbidelli had crashed, so it was wet from Turn 3 to Turn 11. If it had stayed like that, I would have won, the problem is that it stopped raining immediately. As soon as I left the garage, I understood that I had made a mistake and that the best option was to stay on track. I didn’t know exactly what kind of rain would come, it’s very important to communicate with the team, maybe this time there was a misunderstanding between us. It was 100% my fault, but it’s always useful to have information before the race”.

With today’s defeat, the Pramac rider remains the leader of the championship, but his advantage over Bagnaia has been reduced to 7 points. But it’s not just Pecco who is getting closer, because Marc Marquez’s imperious victory has brought him to -53 from the top. However, Martin is not worried about the standings and is only aiming to stay in the fight for the championship: “One day you’re at +26, another day you’re at -12, the important thing is to always be fighting and improving and learning from mistakes. Today was a day in which I learned. I trust in myself, I’m fast and I have no doubts that I’ll be fighting until the end”.