MotoGP | Martin on the Bagnaia-Marquez duo: “I’m going to make popcorn”

The announcement of his farewell to Ducati and the crash while leading the race in Germany seemed to have a clear cause-effect relationship for Jorge Martin, who lost the lead of the MotoGP World Championship just before the summer break. A blow that would have put anyone else out of the running.

However, the Prima Pramac Racing rider was able to relaunch himself with two second places in the British GP to reclaim the lead in the standings which he hopes to maintain until the final races to have a chance of winning the title, demonstrating a new mental strength.

“It was important that he (Pecco Bagnaia) did not move further away from us, because then we would have really lost our chances. It’s not about being the leader, but about being close and having options until the end, in Valencia,” explained Martin, arriving in Spielberg as the leader.

“It’s a track I like, but it will be difficult because the opponents will be competitive. Ducati has always been good and the four favourites, so to speak, will be fast here.”

Martin took his first MotoGP win at this circuit in 2021, and did so after overcoming a very heavy crash in Portimao several weeks earlier.

“It was a big moment in my career, a turning point. After two and a half months from the accident in Portimao, to be able to recover, come here and win. I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls.

From the outside it looks like the title contenders are being pushed to the limit, forced to push hard and risk every millimetre, a situation of maximum stress.

“Last year was more stressful because I couldn’t manage my emotions, I felt a lot of pressure, I couldn’t sleep on Saturday nights. I suffered a lot,” Martin said.

“I’ve worked a lot on this aspect to try to be better mentally, to have more emotional health, let’s say. At the moment I’m managing it quite well, we’ll see at the end of the year, when I really have a chance, if I can manage it better. At the moment I feel less pressure, we’re going very fast, we’re all working better, but the journey is still long and we also have to enjoy it.”

Martin had already explained at the beginning of the season that he had worked with a psychologist, with whom he continues to work periodically.

“I do mental work every day, I try to improve. I saw that last year I had a huge margin, I didn’t know how to handle certain situations. I’ve been working since January and I continue to work every day to improve. I have my sports psychologist, who helps me a lot. He gives me tools that I have to put into practice, there’s no point in having a psychologist if you don’t work on it every day.”

Changing the subject, Martin was asked about Bagnaia’s statements about the relationship he will have with Marc Marquez in the garage next year, when he said that “it can go very well or it can be a disaster”. “I’m going to make popcorn and in the meantime I’ll work well with my new bike”, Jorge replied.

A new bike that, for the moment, he sees on the track only as a rival. “I don’t want to think about it yet, but I always keep an eye on it. Seeing Aleix (Espargaro) break the record at Silverstone motivates me, because it means the bike is competitive. They definitely have to perfect things, on Sunday they are not right, they suffer with the management, but on Saturday they are very close to us. Who knows, maybe I can give them that little something extra that they need”, said a confident Martin.

And obviously he doesn’t miss the opportunity to ask his friend Aleix about the RS-GP: “Obviously, I have a daily relationship with Aleix, I see him every day and we talk about everything. I know they are working and we will see if they continue to grow”, he concluded.