MotoGP | Martin: “I was afraid of losing, I finally won again”

Jorge Martin couldn't have asked for more on Sunday in Portimao, especially after a Sprint that didn't fully satisfy him despite third place. In a certain sense, the Prima Pramac Racing standard bearer broke what had been the leitmotif of 2023: this time he was unable to be as explosive as usual on Saturday, but he gave himself a perfect long race, leading it from start to finish end with great authority.

Only Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini tried to stay close to the tail of his Ducati, but never close enough to try to launch an attack, also because the pace set by “Martinator” was literally infernal. And his first victory of the season also gave him the chance to close a weekend as world championship leader for the first time in his career. It is therefore normal that he looked radiant when it was time for the usual interviews.

“We did a good job, I'm very happy. This year I had never been 100% happy, but today I was, because winning on Sunday was a bit what we were missing. I think the key was the start of the race , put myself in front immediately: we saw it with Pecco in Qatar and also today, even if in the first laps I was calm because I was trying not to stress the tire”, Martin told Sky Sport MotoGP.

“Then when I started pushing, every lap I managed to be faster than the one before. It wasn't easy, because behind me Maverick and Enea were going fast and always remained very close, but I think I made a good step forward compared to the last year and I'm happy. I had doubts about myself since last year, I was afraid of losing and finally I won again”, added the vice-world champion, without hiding that the Sunday disappointments of 2023 have some dross on him had left.

Yesterday he complained again about the vibrations of the rear of his Desmosedici GP24, but today he seemed very brilliant, so he was asked if he had made any particular changes. Actually, his explanation was quite interesting.

“We tried something, but in the end the bike was still the same as yesterday and in Qatar, because I don't like touching it too much. Let's say I worked more on the riding style, because if I manage to do the first 3-4 laps calmly, then the tire works very well and I can do many laps with a good pace. If instead I push straight away, I'll ruin the tyre, so now maybe we need to find some solution from a Sprint perspective, but I think on Sunday the bike will work very well” , explained the Madrilenian

“In the end you have to find a good compromise, because you will never have a perfect bike, there are always strong points and weak points. With this bike, even if it is not yet as stable as I would like, I can go fast. We have a base found, we will try to improve it for Saturday, but for Sunday we say we are there”, he added.

As mentioned, for the first time he manages to close a weekend as leader in MotoGP, because previously he had only managed to do so after a Sprint, both in Indonesia last year and two weeks ago in Qatar, then losing it on Sunday. This time, however, he can enjoy it to the fullest, also because his advantage over Brad Binder is 18 points.

“It's nice, because it's not easy to take the lead in MotoGP. I'll enjoy it for these two weeks of break, but I won't think about it much, because there's a lot left until the end of the World Championship. I prefer to think from race to race, so I'll enjoy this moment and then we'll see what happens”, he concluded.