Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin admits that the MotoGP title is his dream, but is only serious about that goal “when I am a factory rider one day “
Jorge Martin departs the 2023 San Marino Grand Prix MotoGP weekend at Misano with the ideal score of 37 points. With the Pramac Ducati rider winning both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix in commanding fashion, and with no other rider leading in any of the combined 40 laps, Martin has made up quite a bit of ground in the World Championship.
The 2023 MotoGP calendar now begins the seven-race Asian tour before returning to Europe for the season finale at the end of November. With eight races to go, Martin’s gap in the 2023 MotoGP standings is now just 36 points behind championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
Nevertheless, Martin is reluctant to talk about a possible world championship title. Is it tactics to shift possible pressure from himself to the defending champion in the Ducati factory team? Or does Pramac rider Martin really not believe that he has a serious chance of winning the title this year?
“I don’t think it’s my responsibility to win the world title for Ducati,” says Martin in his role as rider of a satellite team (albeit factory-supported). “It’s not like I’m even a factory rider. The day will come that I can say that about myself. But at the moment I don’t have that place,” said the Spaniard, referring to the Ducati factory team. However, there will not be a place in the factory team in 2024, but only in 2025.
Martin says Bagnaia is the favourite in the title fight
“Right now, for me, it’s about winning races and enjoying it,” Martin said after his perfect Misano weekend, dismissing a possible role as favourite in the coming weeks. In this context, he again makes it quite clear: “The moment will come when I can fight for World Championship titles, namely when I am a factory rider. “
With a view to the remaining races of the current 2023 season, Martin then admits: “If the opportunity for me to win the world championship title arises, then of course I will take it. After all, it’s my dream to become world champion. “
But the Pramac rider immediately follows up on his previous comments: “As I said before: I don’t think that as a non-factory rider I’m the one who has the responsibility to make it happen. “
Bagnaia happy with only 14 points loss
“That’s why I’m not getting into it at all,” says Martin. When he uttered that last sentence in Sunday’s press conference, Francesco Bagnaia, sitting next to him, immediately retorted with enquiry, “No?”
How does Bagnaia, whose points lead melted from 50 to 36 this weekend, feel about the current World Championship situation? The championship leader plays the question about pressure straight back to Martin, saying with a grin: “He’s the one with pressure, and lots of it.”
“I think it will definitely still be an interesting battle,” Bagnaia continues. The fact that he only lost 14 points on the Misano weekend is something “Pecco” rates as more than damage limitation, given the history of his Barcelona high-sider.
“We can be really proud of what we achieved this weekend. Instead of finishing the race, it would have been much easier to abandon the race. Nevertheless, we managed to have a really good race. That’s why I’m satisfied,” said Bagnaia, who finished third on both Saturday and Sunday.
