MotoGP: Jorge Martin Delivers Verdict On Marc Marquez's Phenomenal Recovery To Victory

Saajan Jogia | Oct 20, 2024

Apr 13, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Marc Marquez (93) of Spain and Gresini Racing MotoGP waves to the fans after the Americas Grand Prix sprint race at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin reacted to Marc Marquez's remarkable victory, where he surged from 13th to the front, engaging in a tight battle for the first position in the closing stages of the race. Martin noted that "Marc had nothing to lose," which contrasted with his own situation as he closely contends for the championship against Francesco Bagnaia. This freedom allowed Marquez to ride fearlessly.

Starting in second place at the Phillip Island Circuit, Marquez's GP23 Ducati spun at the start of the race, allowing Martin to create a considerable gap in the front. However, the Spaniard rode on another level today as he recovered 7 positions in the opening lap.

By Lap 6, Marquez was chasing both championship contenders. After briefly losing the lead by running wide, Martin quickly regained it from Bagnaia, with Marquez moving into second. Despite Martin's efforts to defend, Marquez executed a long-anticipated pass at Turn 4. Martin countered on the straight, but Marquez secured the lead with a decisive move at the hairpin just three laps from the finish. Speaking on his lost top spot, Martin told the media:

“It was a great weekend, doing the pole position, winning yesterday and being on the podium today.

“I wanted to win. I tried my best. But actually the feeling wasn't like yesterday.

“I was struggling to put the power on the ground so I couldn't make a gap to Pecco and Marc, who both improved from yesterday, even though my race was quite strong.

“In the middle of the race, I started to feel a bit better but then I almost crashed in corner 1. Pecco overtook me, but straight away I was attacking back."

Martin added that Marquez had the ability to take a higher amount of risk since he wasn't contending for the championship. He explained:

“I tried to stay in first position for the last few laps, but Marc had nothing to lose, so it was much more difficult from my side to battle.

“I tried to be close, but he had something else. Maybe not in terms of speed, but in terms of the risk that he can take, or the risk that I can take.”

He added:

“I just thought, ‘wow, he's aggressive.

“[Turn 4] was the only point where I think he was stronger than me. I was struggling a lot with the right side of the front tyre from the 5th-6th lap and it was the only place where I could hear him right behind me.”

The Pramac Ducati rider admitted that he enjoyed the short-lived competition with Bagnaia, as he heads to Thailand next weekend with a 20-point championship lead over Bagnaia. He added:

“Any chance that I have to increase the world championship lead, I will take it.

“It was nice to have a small battle with Pecco because normally he's in front and pulls away or I'm in front and pull away. So finally at least we were battling for one lap and I enjoyed this.

“But anyway, I lost 11 points last week, now I've gained 10 points. Next week we don't know. So we have to be focusing race by race.”