The fight for the MotoGP title is very close and, after Pecco Bagnaia’s zero in the Sunday race, Jorge Martin’s also arrived today: the Mandalika Sprint should have been “a walk in the park” for the world championship leader, who had achieved a stratospheric pole and was keeping his direct rival in the championship at bay. Precisely in the final stages of the race, however, the Pramac rider was betrayed by Turn 16, ending up on the ground and returning to the back of the group.
From there a new sprint began for Martin, who was forced to recover. Also due to absences (the grid is incomplete due to Miguel Oliveira’s unfit) and crashes in front of him, the Spaniard managed to recover up to tenth position. Not enough to take points, so he sees his gap halved and reach 12 points. A wasted opportunity for Martinator, who however wants to look at the glass half full and take into consideration the speed shown in qualifying as well as the feeling with his Ducati
“It wasn’t the best day, but it depends on how you see it,” begins the Pramac rider speaking to journalists in Indonesia after the Sprint. “I want to look at the positive side, I overtook rider after rider and still managed to be competitive and I also had reactions when overtaking, because I finished last and crossed the finish line in tenth place. That means I passed more than 10! If there was a week in between I would be more worried, but tomorrow I have another opportunity and we are on a track where I am going very fast.”
Martin then goes on to explain the fall, which occurred in one of, if not the most difficult corners of the entire track: “I looked at everything I could look at, inclination, speed, line… There was nothing special, so I don’t want make excuses, but I didn’t do anything strange. I’ll go a little more cautious in that corner, but I feel comfortable and I can achieve the same result as I could today.”
However, there are those who don’t think exactly like this, because tackling Turn 16 with greater caution and less aggression made it possible not only to reach the end of the Sprint, but also to win it. Pecco Bagnaia was an exceptional spectator of Martin’s fall, claiming that if he had closed that corner, he would have lost 4 seconds at the end of the race. It wasn’t like that, Martin didn’t close that curve, but the Spaniard responds piqued to the reflection of the reigning world champion: “It’s very easy to talk when your rival falls and you win.”
However, Saturday is already in the archive for the Madrilenian, who arrives at Sunday with a 12 point margin. Looking at the long race, the leader feels ready: “I’m fast, I don’t have to touch anything on the bike, everything is ready for tomorrow. It’s clear that it’s frustrating and it hurts to lose points, but these are races and we have to look ahead. Both Enea and I are one step ahead in terms of pace. Then, it will be important to finish the race, because you can be as strong as you want, but if you don’t finish the races it’s a problem. In the warm up I’ll try to find the feeling again and understand turn 16 better. For the rest, I think I’m ready to fight for the victory.”
“Pecco says he would be fine with finishing second with me first? I sign, I sign! For any result that is winning, you always sign up. I see myself well, so if tomorrow I find the perfect line in that curve so as not to fall, everything will be perfect. It is clear that the rival at the moment is Pecco and not Aeneas. Tomorrow I’ll think about what will be better. We will give our all and go to win, but we will find out everything in 24 hours”, he concludes Martinator.
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