Current MotoGP leader Martin after finishing 5th: “I knew it as early as Friday”

Starting from fifth on the grid, the championship leader seemed to have every opportunity to take the initiative in the battle for the World Championship lead. His rivals, including Ducati Lenovo team manager Davide Tardozzi, also had the Madrid-born rider on their radar for the Aragon Grand Prix.

Martin promptly shot out of the starting grid as if unleashed. The Aprilia works rider capitalised on a brief moment of confusion amongst the Marquez brothers. Whilst Alex hadn’t got off to a perfect start, Marc missed the moment to deactivate the rear height-adjustment device – Martin pounced, moving into second place behind his team-mate Bezzecchi after half a kilometre.

But even on the first lap, the dream of a dream result was over. Jorge Martin was unable to effectively put the power of his RS-GP to the ground, just as he had struggled to do recently. In no time at all, he was back down to fifth place. The ‘Martinator’ remained there for the next 115 kilometres until the chequered flag. Jorge Martin spoke to the media after the Aragon race, clearly dejected. “It was very tough again today. At least I made the most of my potential. Actually, it went as expected, because I’d already got a sense of our capabilities on Friday – under no circumstances was anything more than fifth place on the cards for me here. When you consider that, in terms of potential, this is one of our weaker tracks, two fifth-place finishes are very respectable. I’m already looking forward to Misano and the Red Bull Ring – there we’ll have the grip we need.”

Closer than in the Sprint – yet still some way off

Martin added cautiously: “At least I was closer to the podium in the GP than in the sprint, and I managed to make up a few places on Alex towards the end.” Put into figures: Martin crossed the line 12 seconds behind the winner. The current championship leader was still four tenths off his team-mate Bezzecchi’s fastest lap.”

Martin: “Grip – that’s what I was lacking. I wasn’t able to handle it any better. Fifth place was the best I could manage – and I want to put this behind me as quickly as possible. When asked about his now critical position in the World Championship standings, with a lead of just 19 points over Marc Márquez and 24 over Bezzecchi, the 2024 champion was equally brief: “I’ll fight hard every day – and I haven’t reached the bike’s limit yet.”