Jorge Martin's record of 100% podium finishes in 2024 came to an end last Sunday at the Grand Prix of the Americas, when he was passed for third place by Enea Bastianini's other Ducati on the penultimate lap.
Although the Prima Pramac Racing rider's lead has shrunk, he still holds a 21-point margin over Bastianini ahead of next week's Spanish Grand Prix.
Reigning two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia won the Qatar GP, but missed out on the podium in the Sprint in Portugal after making a mistake while leading, before contact with Marc Marquez eliminated him from that GP.
In Austin, Bagnaia struggled, taking sixth place in the Sprint. He then struggled with chattering problems during the GP, only achieving fifth place and thus seeing the gap to Martin increase to 30 points.
Despite this, Martin believes Bagnaia is still the favorite for this year's championship, but believes the fight is much more open than in 2023.
“I don't know, I think there are many drivers who can fight for the championship,” he said. “I think Pecco is still the favorite because he won last season and is number 1.”
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“So, now we just have to be… I mean, the rivals are strong. There's Marc, there's also Pedro (Acosta), who is really, really good and consistent. You never know. Enea was very strong throughout the weekend. The important thing is that we are fast everywhere and we have to focus on this.”
Despite having an excellent position in the championship after the first rounds, the Madrid native reiterated that he does not want to look at the rankings for the moment.
“I'm definitely not looking at it right now,” he said of his ranking. “I don't like to think about this, but the points we are scoring are for this reason. I'm happy that we've already scored 80, that's a lot.”
“I think we have to be happy and maintain this line, or this mode, because we are working quite well and we are focusing on ourselves and on improving the results of last season.”
“This is a track I've struggled on in the past and this weekend we got quite a few points, and for sure it's better to be in the lead than tenth,” concluded “Martinator”.
Watch: MotoGP Video | American Grand Prix
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