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With his victory in the Sprint race, and Francesco Bagnaia's crash, Jorge Martin is closer than ever to winning the title. In fact, in Saturday's Malaysian race, the Pramac team rider increased his lead over his direct pursuer to 29 points. Exponentially increasing his chances of concluding the battle for the world championship title as early as tomorrow. When it will be enough for a rider to finish between him and Pecco for Martinator to mathematically win his first MotoGP crown.
"I feel very good. It was a great day and very important - noted the Madrid native at the end of the Sprint - It was a complicated race, because it was much faster than last year and also at the pace we have kept all this weekend. Some problems emerged that we didn't have yesterday and it was difficult to manage after Pecco's crash, but I managed it well and I'm happy with how the day went. I started with very clear ideas. I wanted to win and in order to do that I was going to have to take a risk as well. Then his crash changed everything a little bit."
The Piedmont rider's crash offered an unexpected assist to Martin, who told how he experienced the moments after Pecco fell.
"For sure, it happened and I didn't think like it didn't happen: you have to think about it: 'OK, Pecco crashed, be careful you need to finish'," he recounted. "At some point I even thought 'maybe you have to wait for Marc, and finish second, but on the other hand there was no sense to wait because I had eight-tenths. So, I just kept doing the thing I know how to do, which is ride. I was really focused on my marks, my reference on braking. Just trying to do everything the same, and not change anything. Even so I was increasing the gap. Finishing today was important to have more information for tomorrow, because we are never used to doing these long runs here because we don't have time."
In this season finale, above all, Jorge is showing that he has acquired the mentality and experience with which to best manage the fight for the championship. Are these skills that would allow him to win in 2023 as well?
"I think last year I was not ready to win," he admitted, "I was fast, but I wasn't ready. I was scared and in difficult moments, this is where I am more mature. For sure, it's a privilege to be here at this point with this advantage, but nothing is over till it's over. I need to be focused for tomorrow. It will be a really long race and I think Bagnaia will risk a lot to win tomorrow. So to beat him in these conditions is really tough, because he has nothing to lose now: it's all or nothing. I will try my best. I think we are a step forward than the others so in the worst case, I will try to finish 2nd."
Having a good margin to administer over the official Ducati rider, Martinator will still be able to breathe a little in these last races of the year.
"I feel that when I try to breathe and try to be relaxed, I'm more nervous and everything becomes more difficult," he acknowledged, "Today I was a bit nervous in the morning, so I said to Gino Borsoi 'I will go for it'. I mean I didn't want to finish 2nd or 3rd, I want to win because if Pecco is stronger, he will win. Tomorrow is a bit the same, try to do it. If Pecco is much stronger, it's OK, but I will give my best and it's the only way I can be 100% focussed, so I will try to do that."
Jorge will do his best, aware that the title is not yet in his hands.
"Of course I would like to close the World Championship tomorrow, but it will be very complicated, because it will depend on Pecco and his result. Without mistakes, Bagnaia can easily win or stay with me. It will be complicated to close it here, but I will stay focused and if I have the opportunity to do it, I will do it," admitted the Spaniard, who wanted to dedicate a special thought to the Valencian people: "I dedicate my podium, my victory, to them and I will donate the bonus obtained from this success to help families in need. I hope I can help someone."
Returning to talk about the race that just ended, the Pramac rider explained in more detail the problems he had and the reasons why, in his opinion, the Sprint was about nine seconds faster than last season's.
"I think it depends on the tires, because Marc Marquez also improved. I did exactly the same time I did in testing, when I was still on the 2023 bike. Everything has been much faster since we got here. The tires have improved a lot and they're more stable," he analyzed, "Today I actually had some problems with the rear tire, but I'm happy to have finished first and I think I can improve for tomorrow.
Martin then commented on the critical issues found in Turn 9. The point where Bagnaia ended up on the ground in the third lap.
"It's been a critical point all weekend and I had a few scares both yesterday and today in the time attack. There are three different asphalts on the ideal line and at a certain point there is not even asphalt anymore - it's like being in motocross. You have to be very precise in that corner," he said, "I didn't see the crash, so I can't give my opinion about it, but I too had some bad moments there and sometimes I had to slow down during the race so I didn't fall."
Leading from start to finish, the Ducati man is convinced that it was the start that played a decisive role in his victory.
"I think the tires are crucial, because I think I would not have won today if I had not taken the lead immediately. In that case, Bagnaia would have won and I would have finished 2nd. Strategy and a good start are very important. Because nowadays, if you're not good at coming up from behind like Bastianini, it's very difficult to win if you're not in the first positions at the start of the race - he commented - Last year I went wide at the first corner in both the Sprint and GP. This year it was better and, in the end, I was in a more privileged position than Bagnaia: I just had to brake where he was braking and do what he was doing. The important thing today was to be in front in the first corner."
