MotoGP Hero 2.0 Jorge Martin makes a bold statement: “I want to win this year”

Jorge Martin achieved the unimaginable at the Qatar Grand Prix, two weeks after his high-speed crash at Phillip Island, whilst racing with a broken wrist. On Friday, he secured direct entry into the second qualifying session; in Q2, Martin took 11th place, only to storm through the field in the sprint. Spectators rubbed their eyes in amazement – Martin was leading the sprint ahead of Marc Marquez. In the end, he finished third.

In the Grand Prix, run over double the distance, the Madrid-born rider also refused to give in. Starting from 10th on the grid, the number 89 fought his way past Johann Zarco and, later on, past Fabio Di Giannantonio, who had started in third place. Martin gained another position thanks to Fermin Aldeguer’s long-lap penalty.

The completely exhausted World Championship runner-up crossed the finish line 14 seconds behind the race winner from his own team. The battered Spaniard was 0.5 seconds off the fastest lap of the race, which went to Marc Marquez.

The 2024 champion, who had suffered a heavy crash on his Qatar debut with the RS-GP a year ago, still managed to speak to the media. Martin’s account: “I’m completely knackered now, but it was worth giving it my all, even though I’m in quite a lot of pain at the moment. But I now have two weeks in which I can recover and also speed up the healing of the fracture. I expect to be close to 100 per cent in Portimão.”

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The determined Spaniard continued: “We came here, gave it our all and achieved our goal. I’m delighted for the whole team; it’s good for everyone to experience a success like this. When I think that last Tuesday I didn’t even know if I’d be able to be here – and then I was on the podium on Saturday – that’s really quite special.”

Fast enough for the top five despite a poor starting position

Martin on how the GP race unfolded: “Unfortunately, the starting positions of 11th and 10th weren’t very good. But I had the pace to stay around fifth place; that was the best I could manage. I was really pleased to be riding for ‘Diggia’ again and to secure the result – although I was completely knackered in the final laps.”

And what are Martin’s thoughts on the next round in Portugal? “It’s important to me that I end my time at Aprilia on a high note, both for myself and for the whole team. My aim is to win again this year. I hope my body will allow me to fight at the front again and give my all for the World Championship. In Malaysia I couldn’t really do anything, but here we’ve already achieved our goal, so we’ll fight in Portimão just as we have been,” said the “Martinator”.

The situation ahead of Round 21: Marc Marquez, on 431 points, has a 60-point lead over Jorge Martin. That means the Ducati rider is just 12 points short; the title race could be decided as early as the Sprint if ‘MM93’ wins. If Martin wins, the World Championship remains wide open. Time is on Martin’s side – the title challenger now has 12 days to recover from his heroic rides in the desert – and to prepare his next attacks.

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Jorge Martin

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Johann Zarco

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Iker Lecuona

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi gewinnt das Rennen

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Marc Márquez und Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Katar

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