Jorge Martin after throwing away victory: Why he isn’t blaming Aprilia

The MotoGP Sprint at Mandalika seemed to be going Jorge Martin’s way after just a few corners. Whilst his Aprilia team-mates Raúl Fernández and Marco Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 1, the Spaniard took the lead and pulled away from Marc Márquez (Ducati). However, low front tyre pressure forced him to relinquish his lead.

Martin led until the ninth lap, when he let his World Championship rivals past. A late mistake cost him two further positions. Instead of celebrating victory, the Aprilia works rider finished fourth behind Marquez, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia) and Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati), losing the championship lead to the Ducati rider.

Jorge Martin zog in Kurve 1 an die Spitze

Foto: Gold and Goose

“My start wasn’t particularly good, but it was easy for me to take the lead. Then I tried to push and managed to build up a big lead over Marc. From that point on, I just wanted to control the gap,” explained Martin.

How Jorge Martin’s race went off the rails

When he realised that his tyre pressure was below the prescribed level, he initially tried to solve the problem through his riding style. “I put more weight on the front to warm the front tyre up a bit more. But I couldn’t get it into the required range. That’s why I had to let Marc past. From then on, everything became a bit more difficult. I still tried to stay close behind him so I could attack on the final lap. But with two laps to go, I made a mistake. That was the end of my chances.”

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Martin dismissed the suggestion that his crew had deliberately chosen a low starting pressure because they had expected him to race in the pack rather than at the front. “No, we don’t normally do that sort of thing. We never take any risks with tyre pressure. I don’t know why we were outside the range today. I think the humidity makes it quite difficult here. Perhaps the conditions have changed since yesterday. But to be honest: we didn’t take any risks.”

Aprilia must now investigate why the calculation didn’t work out after all. Martin was particularly frustrated that, in his view, no extreme set-up would have been necessary to be competitive. “It happens sometimes. It hasn’t happened to me often in recent years, but today was one of those days. We definitely need to look into that. Perhaps I could have won just as easily today with 0.1 bar more, without running into any trouble.”

Riding behind Márquez caused additional problems. Martin initially stayed close to the Ducati works rider, but then had to weather another critical moment. “I was very close, but then I nearly crashed in Turn 11. That’s why I lost touch. After that, I caught up with him again.”

Marc Marquez fuhr vor Ai Ogura über die Ziellinie

Foto: Gold and Goose

Despite the disappointing result, Martin sounded confident about his own pace. In his view, he had already laid the groundwork for a win. “The hard part was done. I just had to control the race. But that was something I couldn’t influence. If my tyre pressure is below the prescribed level, I have to wait for the other riders. I feel competitive and fast – not just here, but on all circuits. That’s why I need to keep working with discipline. The results will come.”

Even during qualifying, Martin had tried to focus on his own task. The fact that Marquez was right behind him in Q2 didn’t unsettle him, by his own account. “I don’t get nervous when someone’s behind me. That’s why I just did my lap. My first attempt wasn’t good, so I had to set a time. I didn’t really care whether he was behind me or not. I even almost managed to shake him off. That was good.”

Two extra rivals in the Grand Prix

Martin, however, didn’t notice much of the exact sequence of events leading up to the collision at the first corner. He recognised the danger and stayed out of the melee. “I saw them heading into the first corner and knew it wouldn’t end well. That’s why I waited and took the right line. Then I got through. On the next lap, the tarmac was covered in skid marks. That’s why I thought there’d been some crashes. But it wasn’t until after the race that I realised Raul and Bezzecchi had retired.”

Martin therefore expects extra competition from within his own ranks for the Grand Prix. Nevertheless, his lead in the Sprint gives him confidence. “I think I’ve got a great chance tomorrow. I’m fast, and that’s the most important thing. I was able to lead with a lot of confidence. Marco and Fernández will certainly be very strong tomorrow. But so will I. That’s why I believe we can fight for the podium,” said the former champion.