The young Ducati-Pramac rider was on the verge this Sunday of getting his fourth podium finish in his debut season in the premier class. Jorge Martín , winner of the Styrian Grand Prix and third in Doha and Austria , in addition to accumulating three pole positions, crossed the finish line fifth in the Austin test, but was on the podium for 14 of the 20 laps of the race.
The man from Madrid, despite being conditioned by problems with the biceps in his right arm and the harsh conditions in Austin , managed to place third on lap four, and remained solidly there until the last three.
When lap 16 had been completed, Martín went off the track, missing a chicane and losing almost a second of the advantage he had over fourth-placed Pecco Bagnaia .
Race Direction decided to sanction him with a Long Lap (long lap), which he fulfilled in the last lap and which cost him to lose two positions and finish fifth.
“We were quite close to the podium and surely I could have achieved it, I had everything quite under control, the pity is that I had a scare that made me jump the chicane. At the end of the race I had a lot of holes in the tire, we also suffered a lot of chattering (rebound) and all this added to the physical condition has contributed to my losing the position with Pecco”, explained the rider to a question from Motorsport.com .
Although Bagnaia overtook Martín before serving the penalty, the Spaniard lost any chance of fighting for the podium by having to do the long lap, after which he was also overtaken by Alex Rins .
“To begin with, it doesn’t make sense that if you have a scare and you go straight, you’re already losing time, they penalize you on top of that. The problem is that I cut and I was just in the first sector, I couldn’t slow down more, I just lost 8 tenths of my best time and (according to the rule) I have to lose a second. So for only two tenths I had to do the Long Lap”, the Pramac-Ducati rider continued to explain.
Martin ‘s feeling is that he should not have been punished, since the loss of time for the mistake made was enough.
“The sanction is unfair, but more than anything because I didn’t stop (voluntarily), but rather I had a scare and I had no other option left, and that’s why I see it as unfair. But hey, Race Direction isn’t very fine lately and we can’t do anything”, he said in a critical tone.
During the race it was possible to see how Bagnaia’s teammate, Jack Miller, gave him the place, a gesture from the Australian towards the Italian who still has options, albeit minimal, to play for the World Cup.
Despite having a contract with Ducati and treatment as an official driver, Martín does not consider that he should make a similar gesture.
“There were no team orders, so in the case of having reached the end together and not having to do the Long Lap, I would have tried, I would have tried to overtake him. Surely, without the mistake I made at the start of the track I wouldn’t have recovered as much (Bagnaia) and I think the podium was ours, but if I had reached the last lap with options I would have tried for sure. In the end, he is not my team and there was no order”, made it clear the man from Madrid, who is fighting to be the best rookie of the year in his MotoGP debut.
Finally, Martín also valued the exemplary sanction received by Deniz Oncu and, unlike the more general current, the 2016 Moto3 world champion shares more responsibility for the accident.
“I’ve seen the action, it’s tough. In Moto3 they always look for slipstream. Perhaps the rider next to him ( Jeremy Alcoba ) should have been more attentive, leaving him without space. And also (the sanction) is affected by the situation we are in, by how the year is going with the accidents and to set an example for the little ones in Moto3, who have to be more careful and not do this type of maneuver . I see it, not logical but it is a good example for the rest”, settled the boy from San Sebatian de los Reyes .
