Jorge Martin (2nd) had to let the champion pull away, but defended his World Championship lead

By securing pole position, MotoGP leader Jorge Martin had made a strong statement at Motegi. The prime starting position did little to help the ‘Martinator’ in the sprint, as Marc Marquez pounced as early as Turn 2. Memories of the Misano GP were brought back when the champion had overtaken his team-mate and pole-setter Bezzecchi early on.

But in the Japanese Grand Prix, Martin didn’t put a foot wrong at first. In the opening laps, the Aprilia rider set the pace, with Marquez and Bezzecchi in his wake. For ten laps, Martin was closely watched by his closest World Championship rival, before the 2024 champion dropped back to second place.

Jorge Martin wasn’t content to settle for that, but it wasn’t enough to pose a serious threat to Marc Marquez once again. First, the factory Aprilia closed the gap once more with the fastest lap of the race, but then lacked the punch. After 24 laps, he was 1.3 seconds behind the winner, ‘MM93’.

Martin, who now leads by just two points after 32 races, said: “I’m very happy – even if it didn’t turn out quite as I’d hoped – to have won. I’m happy because we managed to build up a great feeling over the weekend, and that enabled me to ride a very good race. It was actually perfect; I didn’t make any mistakes – I just couldn’t win.”

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Martin, in true sporting spirit, after crossing the finish line: “Congratulations to Marc on his victory. But I’m delighted with the trophy for second place – and that we have a package that will enable me to fight for the title in the final stages of the World Championship.”

Round 17 of the MotoGP takes place in Indonesia, on a circuit where an Aprilia rider – Marco Bezzecchi – most recently set the fastest lap times. His team-mate got himself in the right frame of mind for Lombok with a third-place finish at Motegi.