MotoGP | Martin reveals: “Enea superb, but I was limited by consumption”

On some days you have to know how to look at the glass half full and look positively at what you have achieved, even if you haven’t won a victory. Jorge Martin’s second place in the sprint race at Silverstone should be read in this perspective, because the Spaniard not only found confidence in his bike, but also because he closed the gap in the standings from Francesco Bagnaia, who fell after a few laps while trying to get closer to his rivals at the front.

Martin got off to a great start from the second row, not so much in the sprint itself, but in the line he took through the first fast chicane, where he managed to find the space to execute a nice crossover and move from third to first place, thus taking the lead of the race.

The Spaniard immediately tried to make a break from the group, in what is his specialty, namely the performance on the short race. However, behind him Bastianini always remained attached to the leading rider, showing himself on several occasions very threatening, as if overtaking was within reach. This is precisely the element that most surprised the Prima Pramac Racing standard-bearer.

“I tried to give my best, today was a day where I tried to build a little more confidence after the crash at Sachsenring. Today it went very well. The truth is that Enea rode an incredible race, not so much in terms of pace itself, but in the first laps they went really fast and were able to follow me, that impressed me”, said Martin, who, despite Bagnaia’s crash that allowed him to close the gap in the standings, still tried to win the race, even though in reality he had to give way to a particularly fit Bastianini.

“Then I tried to focus a bit only on myself since I saw that Pecco had fallen, but I still tried to win, even if in the end I didn’t make it. We certainly made a small mistake in qualifying, so it’s difficult to start from the second row, but already after the start I was in first position. I pushed as if it were a qualifying, but Enea was superb, he was much stronger than me”.

One of the sections where Martin showed his potential and consistency the most was the fast sequence, in the area after Copse, where great stability and a certain amount of courage in managing the bike are required. In that section, in fact, the Spaniard was able to make the difference and he himself was aware of it, but the duel with Bastianini was also limited by other factors, such as more conservative engine mappings to manage the fuel. At the end of the race, in fact, several riders arrived almost without fuel, having to ask their colleagues for a “lift” to return to the pits.

“The truth is that I was really fast in the snake, when they passed me, at that point I would then take it all back. The biggest problem was that from the second lap I had to drive with a slightly more conservative fuel mapping and you lose power,” said Martin, also explaining why he was struggling to get close to Bastianini towards the Stowe braking point despite a good exit from the fast sequence.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“At that point it was difficult, on the straights the others were gaining quite a bit on me. Even though it’s true that Enea was going really fast, I couldn’t get back on the attack. Let’s hope we can do better tomorrow and above all improve our confidence in the most important braking sections because that’s where Enea takes everything from me.”

When asked why he was forced to use more conservative mappings, Martin explained that the pace was faster than expected: “We didn’t think we’d be running at this pace, so we consumed a bit more.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s long race, the Spaniard feels more at ease, especially because the medium will tend to be used, the compound he feels most comfortable with: “For me, the medium is better, for two reasons. The front suffers less because I think that with the soft, even if you consume a lot, afterwards I feel that the front always closes. Also, with the medium the pace was better than with the soft. I’m confident for tomorrow, I’m sure everyone will make a step, but I’m happy.”