Jorge Martin Lists Rivals For Pushing Him Towards His First MotoGP Title This Season

2024 MotoGP championship winner Jorge Martin has listed three riders who helped push him toward his maiden title this season.

Apr 13, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Jorge Martin (89) of Spain and Prima Pramac Racing holds up his medal after he finishes in third place in the Americas Grand Prix sprint race at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

2024 MotoGP championship winner Jorge Martin has listed three riders who helped push him toward his maiden title this season. The intense battle for the championship raged between him and factory Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia until the last race in Barcelona. Fortunately for Martin, he won the Grand Prix by ten points over Bagnaia and will take the Number 1 tag to Aprilia next season.

Martin's victory marked him as the third Ducati rider to win a MotoGP championship after Casey Stoner and Bagnaia. The huge milestone in his career also makes him the first independent rider in the sport's history to secure a title. In achieving this remarkable feat, Martin credited Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, and Enea Bastianini for pushing him to become a championship winner and for keeping him on edge throughout the season, ultimately leading him to the title.

Bagnaia gave the Spaniard a tough fight by winning more Grands Prix than him, though Martin gained an edge through Sprint race victories. Marquez and Bastianini, meanwhile, also challenged him significantly on their Ducatis throughout the season. Explaining that the three riders made him give his all, Martin said:

"Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini - all three have made me a better rider, they have made me give my all.

“When it wasn't one of them, it was the other who could have won, and I was always in that fight and that's what made the difference.

“It was a very difficult title to win, we achieved a historic points record, which already tells you that the competitiveness was very high and to have beaten them is incredible.”

Martin's first title seems to have increased his confidence immensely, revealing how he had an edge over Bagnaia and Marquez during the season. He told MotoGP.com:

“It was incredible winning against the best Pecco, because he won 11 races.

“So, the best Pecco.  I think Marc was also his best version. Maybe he didn’t have the best bike, he was missing a little bit from the bike.

“But he was the best Marc. I can assure you that he was on the limit. And I beat them both.

“For sure I need to improve because I was really consistent, but I just won three Sundays.

“I crashed twice while leading, so there is always room to improve and I will try to do it.”

Adding further, Martin revealed his wish of going into the sport's history books. He said:

“I want to be a legend in MotoGP.

“I want to be remembered as an amazing rider like [Jorge] Lorenzo, [Dani] Pedrosa, Valentino [Rossi], Marc Marquez.”