In the second part of the 2023 season, Jorge Martin has never been seen in difficulty like he was in the long race in Sepang. In Indonesia and Australia he had made mistakes that caused him to come out defeated, but in Malaysia he never had the pace of the best and in the first phase of the race he also had to give up in the body-to-body duel for third position with his rival in the race for the title, the Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia.
As already happened in the Sprint, the Prima Pramac Racing rider from Madrid had some difficulties with the front tyre. If yesterday it was a problem of increased pressure, today it was linked to the temperature, which in the long run prevented him from staying in the tail of the Desmosedici GP of the reigning world champion, settling for fourth place to avoid the risk of running out of wheels air.
“The pressure was certainly higher than I would have liked, but less than yesterday. We tried to do a little better in this situation, but it wasn’t enough and after a few laps I was risking falling in every corner. It was really difficult and frustrating not to be able to push for the whole race. So, fourth place was the best I could do”, said “Martinator” without hiding his disappointment.
“I think the pressure was just over 2 bars, not like yesterday which reached 2.1. But I think it’s more the temperature that rose while being behind Pecco. I struggled and then it never dropped again. I tried to put pressure on him, but then I felt like I was going to fall, so I slowed down,” he added.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
After gaining 2 points on Bagnaia in the Sprint, in the long race the Piedmontese took 3 points back from him. This means that there are 14 points separating them with two weekends to go, one more than when they arrived in Malaysia. The Spaniard, however, does not make any dramas, convinced that the world championship discussion is still very open.
“We lost a point at the end of the weekend, which isn’t that much. At times I even recovered 15 points, so I’m confident that in the next races I can be fast. If there are any tracks on which we can recover, these are the ones Qatar and Valencia, because there are often group races, so I could put several riders between me and Pecco. A lot of points can be gained or lost for both sides. So, I’m confident and I’ll try to beat him in the next race to recover points.” .
After the race, he discovered that Pecco Bagnaia had also played his “joker” linked to the new tire pressure rule, running into the warning. This means that both now risk a penalty if they were to be caught below the values imposed by Michelin in the next two races. Martin, however, made it clear that he has no desire to continue managing as he did in Malaysia.
“From my point of view, I think I could take a risk. I’m not interested in finishing fourth with the right pressure, I prefer to fight for the victory with low pressure. In the end, three seconds isn’t that much: today by winning I could have gotten on the podium even with a penalty. I don’t care if I end up one point or 80 behind Pecco, so I’ll take risks in the next races and push.”
When asked if this rule is undermining the essence of MotoGP, he replied without hesitation: “100%. This year it’s like this, with the warnings and penalties, but next year you will be disqualified if you are under to value. We need to put pressure on the organizers to take a step back or to at least make this situation easier for the teams.”
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