The Pramac Racing rookie was close to winning his fourth podium of the season in the Grand Prix of the Americas. Already winner of the Styrian Grand Prix and third in Doha and Austria, Jorge Martin crossed the finish line fifth in Austin, after completing 14 of the 20 laps scheduled in podium position.
The Spaniard, despite being slowed down by a bicep problem in his right arm and the difficult track conditions, managed to take third position during the fourth lap and remained firmly there until the last three laps.
On lap 16, Martin went off the track, skipping one of the T1 chicanes and losing almost a second of the margin he had against his rival Francesco Bagnaia.
The Race Direction therefore decided to penalize him with a long lap penalty, which he served on the last lap, which caused him to fall to fifth place in the final.
“We were close enough to the podium and I probably could have gotten it. I had everything under control, the shame is that I had a fright that made me skip the chicane. At the end of the race I had a lot of holes in the tire, we also suffered a lot of chattering. and all this added to my physical condition contributed to my losing position on Pecco, “explained the Spaniard, answering a question from Motorsport.com.
Although Bagnaia overtook Martin before the latter served his sentence, the Spaniard lost any chance of fighting for the podium when he had to take the long lap penalty, for which he was also passed by Alex Rins.
“To begin with, it makes no sense that if you have a thrill and go straight, you are already wasting time, plus you have a penalty. The problem is that I cut and I was already in the first sector, I couldn’t slow down anymore, I lost 8 tenths of a second from my best time and (according to the rule) you have to lose a second. So for just two tenths I had to do the long lap “, continued the Pramac Racing driver.
Martin’s feeling is that he shouldn’t have been punished, as the waste of time for the mistake was already enough.
“The penalty is unfair, but mostly because I didn’t cut voluntarily, but I got scared and I had no other choice, and that’s why I see it unfair. But well, Race Direction isn’t going very well lately and we can’t do anything about it. “he said rather critically.
During the race, Bagnaia’s teammate, Jack Miller, gave up his position to the Italian, who still has a chance, albeit minimal, of winning the world championship.
Despite having a contract with Ducati and being treated like a factory rider, Martin doesn’t think he should have made such a gesture.
“There were no team orders, so if we had come to the end together and I hadn’t had to do the Long Lap, I would have tried, I would have tried to overtake him. Surely, without the mistake I made, Pecco would not have recovered. so much and I think the podium was ours, but if I had come to the last lap with options I would have definitely tried. In the end it is not my team and there was no order, “said the Spaniard, who is fighting to be MotoGP rookie of the year.
Finally, Martin also assessed the exemplary punishment received by Deniz Oncu and, unlike the more generalized current, the 2016 Moto3 world champion distributes more responsibility for the accident.
“I saw the accident, it’s difficult. In Moto3 they always look for the wake. Perhaps the rider next to him (Jeremy Alcoba) should have been more careful, he didn’t leave room for him. And even the penalty is influenced by the situation we are in, by how is going this year with the accidents and to give an example to the young riders in Moto3, who need to be more careful and not do this kind of maneuver. It doesn’t seem logical to me, but it is a good example for the rest of the riders “, said the Spaniard.