Jorge Martin leaves Australia with a Sprint Race victory and second place in the Australian Grand Prix.
On Saturday Jorge Martin returned to winning ways as he won his sixth Sprint Race of the season. However, Sunday's Grand Prix was different for 'The Martinator' as he had to settle for second place.
After Martin looked unbeatable during the Sprint Race cracks began to show on Sunday. The Spaniard began to suffer from front and rear tyre issues during the Australian Grand Prix. But despite these issues, Martin was able to extend his Championship lead over Francesco Bagnaia.
After the Australian Grand Prix Martin said: "It was a great weekend getting the pole position, winning yesterday and then today on the podium. I wanted to win I tried my best, I was really focused on the pace trying to make 1:27s, but the feeling was not like yesterday. I was struggling a lot to put the power to the ground and I was slipping a lot from the rear.
"In the middle of the race, I started to feel a bit better, but then I almost crashed in corner one so they (Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez) caught me. Pecco overtook me, but I attacked back straight away. I feel we did a good job, at the end, I tried to be close to Marc, and I tried to be in first for the last few laps. But he had nothing to lose so it was much more difficult on my side to battle.
"Anyway, I tried to be close but he (Marquez) had something else, I am happy with how the weekend went and I am looking forward to Thailand."
'From the fifth or sixth lap I started to struggle' - Martin
Martin was passed by Marc Marquez at Turn Four, just laps after his team sent him a cryptic warning that Marquez was stronger than him at that part of the circuit. After the race, Martin stated that he believed Turn Four was the only part of the circuit where Marquez would have been able to pass him.
"I think it was the only point where he was stronger than me," Martin stated. "I was struggling a lot with the front tyre, I was suffering from a lot of oversteer. It was difficult, from the fifth or sixth lap I started to struggle, so the only point was corner four. I feel that I am fast again and I am really competitive, so this is what I will take from Australia."
Next weekend MotoGP go to Thailand for the 18th round of the 2024 World Championship. Martin's confidence is high for the Thai Grand Prix as in 2023 he did the double at Buriram.
Martin said: "We have the experience from last year, we learnt a lot about how to work on the bike for next weekend. I am pretty happy that we can start with a good base setup and do a great job."