With a win in the Indonesian sprint, Jorge Martin takes the world championship lead from Francesco Bagnaia, despite not being faultless himself on Saturday
Francesco Bagnaia handed Jorge Martin the World Championship lead on a silver platter in Indonesia on Saturday – and the Pramac Ducati rider grabbed it with both hands. After Bagnaia’s retirement in Q1, things did not go perfectly for him, even with sixth place on the grid. Nevertheless, it was enough for victory in the sprint race.
“I am super happy. It was a difficult race because starting from sixth place was not ideal,” said Martin about his starting position. “But I was able to overtake a lot of riders, although that is normally difficult on this track.”
Shortly after the start, however, Martin initially lined up in fifth place. “In the first corner I was on the dirty part of the track, so I couldn’t overtake anyone. I held my position for now,” he explained.
Martin: “I overtook them all “
“Step by step I made up ground. I felt strong. I thought before the race that I would not be able to pass Brad. But I overtook them all, although I also kept an eye on the rear tyre so that it would last until the end. Because the soft compound is really soft.”
As a result, Martin passed the KTM rider during the first lap, who was cleared by Aleix Espargaro shortly afterwards, and then laid into Fabio Quartararo.
After only two laps Martin was already third and put pressure on pole setter Luca Marini, who had lost the lead early on to Maverick Vinales. Martin eventually left them both behind as well. Five laps before the end of the race he took the lead.
@88jorgemartin LEADS!
He eases past Maverick! IndonesianGP pic.twitter.com/6j5POlKAfG
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 14, 2023
The Spaniard was very deliberate in his approach: “The racing line is only one and a half metres wide. So you have to prepare your overtaking manoeuvres well, two or three corners before the actual overtaking point. That’s what I did and it worked. “
WM leadership doesn’t change mentality
Once in the lead, Martin then quickly opened up a lead of just over a second, which he maintained until the finish. With Bagnaia unable to finish higher than eighth, he lost the World Championship lead to his brand-mate, who now leads by seven points – for the first time ever in MotoGP.
“It feels great, like a dream,” enthuses the new World Championship leader, but in the same breath stresses: “My mentality doesn’t change. I have to attack, I have to enjoy the moment. Everything that comes is good. The pressure is on Pecco, because he has to win. My approach remains the same. “
Since his one-two at Misano, Martin has been on a roll, winning every race with the exception of the Indian Grands Prix. Looking back at the start of the season, he admits, “I missed out on some good points there. I made a few mistakes.”
“But it’s still a learning process for me this year. Hopefully next season I will get another opportunity to eradicate those mistakes. “
Fall in qualifying: P6 the maximum
Martin was not entirely faultless on Saturday either. A crash in qualifying cost him a better starting position. “I crashed with the good front tyre. And then with the hard front tyre it was just impossible in the second run,” he explained.
“I was four tenths off yesterday’s time in the first sector my crash lap, so it would have been a low 1:30 time for sure, maybe 1:29. But I almost crashed already in turn 5, and then it actually happened in turn 16. “
Now it’s @88jorgemartin that’s crashed!
He should be able to get back for his spare bike quite quickly! IndonesianGP pic.twitter.com/3mcMXjJw9P
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 14, 2023
But Martin did damage limitation with sixth place on the grid – unlike Bagnaia, who also missed out on the retrospective Q2 entry after the direct one. Martin watched the drama on the screens in his pit box before he pulled out himself. In general, he studies his opponent’s performance very carefully.
Martin prepared for Sunday’s race
“I always look at Pecco’s data and try to understand what he does during the weekend, what set-ups he runs,” Martin reveals. “But at the end of the day I focus on myself, my riding style and my set-up.”
The Pramac rider is confident for the main race on Sunday and emphasises with regard to the tyre choice: “I was the only one who worked with the medium rear tyre this morning. I think that’s positive because I know the tyre a bit better now. It works pretty well.”
“You saw what happened with Maverick today. His tyre was completely at the end after seven, eight laps. The medium is more consistent and I’m going 1:31 on it. It’s very similar to what we were running towards the end of this race. “
