Jorge Martin admits that Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi is pushing him to “the absolute best” after sealing a 1-2 in the COTA MotoGP race.
Martin earned his 17th victory in Sprint races following a last lap dash against Francesco Bagnaia, before finishing second in Sunday’s race to Bezzecchi.
The 28-year-old has now achieved four podiums out of four races in Goiania and COTA, which sees him second in the championship.
Martin has admitted he has already exceeded his target from the start of the year, where he anticipated a couple of podiums.
“I thought that my target during this year was to finish some races in the podium, and it’s been two in a row, four podiums in a row let’s say,” Martin told TNTSports.
“I couldn’t believe it if you told me two weeks ago. I’m so grateful to Aprilia because together with Marco we are doing an amazing job.
“We are making a difference, we are a great team, great level and we are pushing each other to the absolute best.”
Martin spent the majority of the race behind Bezzecchi and KTM’s Pedro Acosta, before his compatriot ran wide to let him through in order to avoid a second tyre pressure penalty.
He conceded Bezzecchi was unbeatable and settled for second place ahead of Acosta, despite being the fastest rider in the latter stages.
“Today was a tough race, I thought the best strategy was to stay a bit behind them but then everything went too hot and I almost crashed.
“I lost a bit of time there. Anyway, I never gave up, I gave my 100% with three laps to go, maybe that was the point where I saw I was really on the limit in terms of physical condition.
“The bike was still working perfectly but I was too tired and I just let go until the end.
“Marco didn’t make any mistakes, I was expecting some mistakes from him, but second was the best I could achieve today.”
Jorge Martin reveals ‘weakest point’ preventing him from MotoGP race wins
After a weekend of overall positives, Martin admitted he has figured out what is currently preventing him from race wins.
“Qualifying, for sure. The soft tyre is my weakest point at the moment,” Martin said.
“It’s really good that it’s clear it is the time attack, so it’s just focusing on that.”
Despite his issues so far, the 28-year-old has taken comfort in the upcoming Jerez test, where he can work on his soft tyre running.
Martin believes once he finds that momentum in qualifying just as he had before his injury, he will finally be in the position to win races.
“For sure, in Jerez it will be tough but then we have a test where I can focus on the soft tyre because as soon as I reach a good level in qualifying and I can be in the first row we will be [there].
“In terms of pace, in Brazil and here in Austin, we were confirming that, I think it was the most difficult track this season.
“So, I think we can fight. It’s just a matter of time to put everything together and try to win races.”
Discussion about this post