On paper, the big victim of the cancellation of the Australian GP Sprint due to weather conditions was Jorge Martin. The Spaniard started from pole position and on Saturday, in the long race, he completed the first 13 laps (the length of today’s sprint) with a lead of three seconds. The Pramac team rider is having excellent pace and three weeks ago in Japan he demonstrated, in the rain, that he is a missile.
However, the conditions forced the race to be canceled for the safety of the riders and Martin accepted the situation: “It was the right decision, the wind was incredible and we saw a lot of crashes in Moto2. It was a decision of the race direction and we have to respect it. I was comfortable in the water and I saw the opportunity to recover points in this race, but it wasn’t possible and we have to think about the next one”, which will already be on Sunday in Thailand.
The problem is that the Spaniard was unable to get over yesterday’s disappointment and leaves with a bad taste in his mouth: “Yesterday didn’t go as bad as in Indonesia, but it’s frustrating to be the fastest of the whole weekend and throw the race goes away, but at least we got some points, it could have been worse. We have to be focused and not make a mistake like the one with the tires again, because there are good tracks for me and it’s important to arrive at Valencia with options.”
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Martin started Saturday’s race with a soft rear tire and pushed hard from the first lap, and with a little more calm perhaps things could have gone differently: “Nothing would have changed because without a margin I would have been caught in the end, it was a clear mistake, perhaps the strategy wasn’t the right one and with another tire (the medium) if I had pushed at the start the same thing would have happened to me, we’ll never know.”
Two mistakes, the fall at Mandalika and the tire at Phillip Island, compromised his chances of fighting for the title against Pecco Bagnaia, but increased his learning curve: “Above all I learned that when you fight for a world title, which for me is the first time in MotoGP, you have to fight with the same weapons as your opponents, especially if you are stronger than them, as happened on this track. In Indonesia I learned that when the asphalt is dirty you can’t get off the track,” he said laughing, proving he has no sense of humor.
“This year it will be like this or it won’t be like this, I will try to do my best, but these are experiences and lessons for the future”, added the Pramac rider, who however does not give up. “Thailand is a very good track for me, also Sepang, Qatar and Valencia, all the remaining tracks, all four, and I hope I can do it,” he concluded.
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