Championship leader, Jorge Martin, has four rounds left to defend his 10-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia.
Jorge Martin came to the Japanese Grand Prix with a 21-point lead in the MotoGP World Championship. However, the #89 leaves Japan with only a 10-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia.
The Spaniard finished fourth place in the Sprint Race and second in the Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Bagnaia won both of the two races across the weekend.
After the 24-lap Grand Prix Martin was happy with his result but was disappointed that he could not fight for the victory.
"For me, it feels really good," Martin said. "Not like a victory, you know I am a rider and I want to at least battle for the win. I did it coming from the back so it was difficult to overtake some riders, I had to use more tyres than Pecco (Bagnaia).
"I started to close the gap but as soon as you're closer than half a second everything becomes difficult with the front. With ten laps to go, I decided to try again. I saw that Pecco was struggling under braking so I was pushing quite a lot. With three laps to go, I had a big moment in Turn Three and the moment told me that it was time to stop.
"I finished with 20 points, Pecco was really strong he is a master at managing the tyre so he did an amazing job. But I feel confident, coming from the fourth row to second place gives me confidence for Australia which is a good track for me."
'I was really sh*tting myself and I decided that was enough' - Jorge Martin
Martin thought that he had a sniff at taking victory at one point as he saw Pecco making mistakes. However, as the Spaniard started pushing he started making mistakes and nearly crashed out of the race all together.
"When I was closing the gap I thought I could make a move," Martin stated. "I saw Pecco was pushing because he made a few mistakes in Turn 11, so I decided to push, and everything was under control. I was quite on the limit but under control.
"Then I lost the front quite heavily in Turn Three, I saved it with my elbow, and then I lost two seconds. I was really sh*tting myself and I decided that was enough. For sure in the Championship I think we have to think about these 20 points after starting from 11th. Now it is time to improve, especially in Qualifying, because when I am in front I can lead and control the races."
There are now four rounds left of the 2024 MotoGP season and Martin is still in the lead of the Championship. The Spaniard has labelled the end of the season as a 'sprint finish' to Valencia in November.
"It is a sprint now until the end, it will be tough," Martin said. "Pecco is an amazing rider but I feel grateful to be here. Grateful that I can battle like last year, but I feel stronger so let's go for it.
"There are some races I feel that I am better at and some others where Pecco is better so the target it bring it to Valencia and have the chance to win it."