He tried, he tried everything and he came close to achieving it. The dream faded on the gravel, but Jorge Martin ended his best season in MotoGP as vice-world champion. The Spaniard is not a loser, he fought like a warrior until the last race of the championship, even threatening Pecco Bagnaia’s record, even if in vain.
He “only” had to win to try to take the title from his rival, he tried when he found himself right on Pecco’s heels after a few corners from the start. In an overtaking attempt he was sucked into the slipstream, going wide and returning to the center of the group. His world championship fight ended before the checkered flag, when during his furious comeback he collided with Marc Marquez, with both of them on the ground.
“I wanted to win it, I was already sixth, I had caught up with Zarco almost immediately and there were 14 laps to go, I had a higher pace than the rest of the group”, states the Pramac rider. “We worked late yesterday to make a step forward from yesterday to today. I knew that the world championship was impossible when Pecco was first, but I hoped to end the season with a victory, at least, this makes me more angry. I don’t think I lost the world championship, I think it was the sum of the mistakes, especially in the first part of the season we suffered and weren’t very competitive. We need to understand why we suffered to get to the start of the season as I am now.”
“The strategy was to push and try to win the race, even if it was complicated. But I think today I had more than the others. When I was behind Pecco I waited to see if I could find some place to pass him and be able to slow down the race. I waited because there was no point in getting in front and pulling, but when I got sucked into the wake everything changed and I had to start pushing. I had thought about overtaking Pecco, then I decided not to do it again, but being behind I was sucked in”, explains Martin referring to the episode of the first laps with Bagnaia. “I braked and saw that I was too close and it would have been a catastrophe! I lifted up a little and we touched. From that moment on I tried to recover positions. I felt very fast and I was faster than everyone. I found myself in front of a Vinales fighter, of whom I didn’t understand at all why he responded to my attacks when he was one of my… not allies, because I didn’t have any, but he would have told me that he wouldn’t bother me.”
Then the key moment, the accident with Marquez which effectively handed the title into the hands of Pecco: “I was overtaking Marc, he took off the brakes to maintain the position and I couldn’t help but lift the bike to try to save the fall. But I did not succeed. I’m sorry for him too, because these are racing things, but the crash was a shame. I’ll try to talk to him, I’m sorry for both of you. It was a combination of things, it wasn’t his fault, but it wasn’t mine either.”
However, Jorge Martin has nothing to complain about, closing his 2023 with something more than what he expected at the beginning of the year: “I still feel happiness, after the hard moment I want to thank the team I have, the people who are around me . I think this is just the beginning, I think I still have many years to fight for the championship. This year it wasn’t in our plans to fight for the title, we were aiming for the top 3, we did it by arriving until the last day in Valencia with a large advantage over third and with a great chance of winning the world championship. I am happy with what we have achieved and I hope to fight for many more titles.”
This year he lost the title, but Martin will try again next year, aware of the means he has: “This is just the beginning, I think the potential we have shown is out of the ordinary. I have confidence in the team and in myself, we have room for improvement. For me it’s like it’s my second year in MotoGP, because last year doesn’t count. I learned a lot and fought for a world championship, I think this shapes you a lot. I hope to be able to bring the title to Spain next year. On a technical and material level I don’t lack anything. I think we have everything we need to fight for the world championship. Then what’s outside, external help, I think Ducati has something more. They have the power to control its other drivers.”
The rumors of a Martin-Bastianini swap for 2024 had also become more insistent. The Pramac standard bearer, according to Motorsport.com’s rumours, would have had the opportunity to move to the official team in the event of a title victory. But Jorge is categorical: “I want to stay in Pramac. If I had won, even more so, because it is the winning team. I think if I haven’t proven enough to wear red yet, I never will. So I think the reasons are obvious, I’m fine where I am and for 2025 we’ll see.”
Martin undermined Bagnaia in the world championship fight and, retracing his season, he looks at the best and worst moments that made the title slip from his hands: “The best? The two victories at Misano. They were the best two races, I won at his home, it was priceless and I think we can do it again. Where did I lose? Maybe on two occasions, Indonesia and Australia. The two races in which the balance could have changed. Maybe having been too good at that moment gave me too much confidence. I thought I could do what I wanted, but in MotoGP it doesn’t work like that. You have to be aware of what you’re doing and fight with the same weapons as your rivals.”
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
“Pecco had a fantastic season. Having a lead of so many points, 60, at one point in the year I think was the key to him winning the world championship again. He also made mistakes, but he managed to win it even so. He is a great champion, winning again in the current MotoGP is a very difficult thing. I think he had the maturity and speed necessary to do it,” are the words that Martin dedicates to his world champion rival, once again.
2024 is already here, there are tests that will take place on Tuesday and will give us a taste of what next season will be: “Now we have a bike that works very well. I’m not one who likes to make changes too much, but between yesterday and today we made a big one which I think helped us. We have found another important base, we have a new engine, new parts. We know that sometimes going new isn’t the best, on Tuesday we need to stay very focused and avoid going backwards. We have Marquez, other very competitive riders who with this year’s bike can be very fast from the start.”
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