Martín: "I came to this circuit with fear and now I see myself with options for a podium"

The young Ducati rider suffered a fall in Portimao last April that led him to think about leaving the bikes, breaking several bones, undergoing surgery and facing a slow and painful recovery that is still incomplete.

Despite all this, Jorge Martín has had an excellent weekend and has climbed to fourth position in the Algarve Grand Prix standings, in which he will start from an excellent second row.

“The truth is that I didn’t expect to be here at all, I’ve improved a lot since Friday, I’m gaining a lot of confidence and I think that in terms of pace I’m not far away, so in the race I hope to stick and hold on”, with those in front.

Martín is a fast lap specialist, as evidenced by the three pole positions he accumulates in his rookie year and that he always starts from the front rows. But doing it on this circuit has, for him, a special value.

“It has more value and shows me a lot to myself the mental strength that I can have and I think this is very good for the future,” he said.

“I came here afraid, because I was afraid, I didn’t want to come, but being able to face that fear and be able to overcome it is important, more than anything, because facing it you can face it, but you can still have it”, explained the Madrid native.

“And now, the truth is, I have almost forgotten about it. Yes, it is true that that particular corner, where I fell, when today, for example, in the time trial I tried to go full throttle and I saw that it moved a bit, because I went a little too far instead of putting it in like I had to put it there, but it is clear that leaving the room is incredible.

“In each training session I am closer, the important thing is that I am improving, I am understanding the category and despite being a difficult track for me I am only two tenths from pole, which is the most important thing”.

Despite feeling strong, Martín is aware that victory will be very expensive this Sunday in Portimao .

“The victory is very difficult. I don’t rule anything out, because normally in FP4 I suffer a lot and then in the race I am able to set a faster pace, I think we can have a great race, I hope to fight for the podium, this would be the main thing. Although a top five or six would be a good result.”

Despite the fact that until now he had recognized that he was particularly excited about the title of rookie of the year, Martín assured this Saturday that he does not want to think about it anymore.

“Honestly, I don’t have any motivation in that, I face the weekend like any other, trying to give my 100%, but it is clear that I pay attention, I pay attention to where he is (Enea Bastianini, his rival for that trophy), where I am I always in every training session, but it’s not something that keeps me awake,” he assured.

After leading that classification all season, Martín has now been surpassed by Bastianini by 5 points, although the Spaniard has missed many races due to Portugal’s injury.

“I have shown myself and the people what I am capable of and I have little more to say. In such a complicated weekend, being able to fight and be competitive is more than enough”, concluded Jorge, who will start nine positions ahead of Bastianini .

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing