Martín: "I'm ready to have a great second part of the season"

During the last Italian Grand Prix , at the end of May, Ducati informed Jorge Martín and Enea Bastianini that the decision about who was going to be the brand’s second official rider in 2023 was not going to be made that weekend, as it was the initial intention, and was postponed until August 31, the day before the Misano weekend.

The Bologna manufacturer considered, at that time, that making a decision as events had unfolded was not going to be entirely fair, even though Bastianini had accumulated three victories at that time and was fighting for the championship.

However, the executives dressed in red considered that Martín had not had the same opportunities. The Spaniard had been punished by injuries (he had to undergo surgery on June 6) and had had to carry the weight of developing the Desmosedici GP22 together with Johann Zarco, his partner at Pramac, when choosing the official riders hybrid motorcycle 2021-22, while Enea enjoyed the stability of a motorcycle that the previous year Pecco Bagnaia had classified as “perfect”.

Until then, in the first seven races of the year, Bastianini had accumulated 94 points to just 28 from Martín, who barely added second place in Argentina and an eighth in Austin , with up to five races without scoring.

From that meeting in Italy, things have changed substantially, Enea chained two consecutive zeros ( Mugello and Barcelona ), adding a total of 24 points to his locker in the following three races at Sachsenring , Assen and Silverstone .

On the contrary, Martín made a substantial change and since the weekend in Italy he has scored in the five races held, with a second place in Montmeló and a total of 53 points, more than double that of his rival for the official seat in the same stretch.

“What has changed in these last few races is that I better understand the limits of this year’s new bike, I start to get the best out of it and I feel much better with the (right) hand,” Martín explains to Motorsport.com while He is thoroughly preparing for the next round of the championship, the Austrian Grand Prix , which takes place next week. “All this added up makes me feel more confident and in control in the races,” added the Spaniard.

In addition to technical aspects regarding the bike and physical aspects, the Spaniard also changed his approach to race weekends, thanks in part to a conversation he had with the bosses of the brand and that is allowing the best version of the rider to be seen.

“Ducati simply asked me to focus on finishing the races, to recover 100% from the hand and then the results would come. I think we are on the right track”, explains the winner of the rookie of the year trophy in 2021, precisely ahead of Bastianini .

The last Silverstone race was the only one of the last five in which Enea finished ahead of Jorge. The Italian did what he does best, save tires for the first half of the laps and attack at the end. This time it didn’t help him to win, but it did help him overtake Martín on the last lap with fourth place at stake.

Jorge had a great first half of the race, starting even further back on the grid (9th), reaching podium positions and staying in the top 5 for the last 15 laps (10 of them fourth).

“We have already shown with pole positions or with the two seconds ( Argentina and Catalunya ), that we can be very competitive. I also enjoyed the last race at Silverstone a lot, especially the first part”, he claims.

“I’m starting to have the aggressiveness and explosiveness that have always characterized me. So I’m convinced that a great second part of the season awaits us. I’m ready,” says the boy from San Sebastián de los Reyes .

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing