Jorge Martin described his triumph at the Portuguese MotoGP as the “most seasoned” display of his career.
Jorge Martin of Pramac Ducati dazzled on Sunday, leading every lap of the Portimao MotoGP.
Securing third place in the sprint race, Martin seized the holeshot from the third position on the grid and expertly managed the gap between himself and Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini.
With Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, both anticipated title rivals, colliding and taking each other out, Martin found himself with a glaring opportunity, which he promptly seized. The Spaniard widened the gap between himself and Bagnaia by 33 points.
This circuit nearly ended Martin’s career in 2022 when a crash at turn seven resulted in nine broken bones. Reflecting on his race win, Martin described it as the “most mature” of his career.
Martin expressed, “I believe it’s the most mature performance. This track almost took everything from me in 2021. I suffered nine broken bones in corner seven.
“Today, I stand here in first place. I’m grateful for the track. I believe this experience adds a lot of maturity for the future as well.
“Taking the lead early on today was a bit easier because I could control the pace at the start.
“So, as they were closing in, I maintained a small margin, maybe a tenth or half a tenth, and each lap was quicker than the last.”
“Each lap was quicker than the last. I felt at ease, but around five laps to go, I could hit [1m] 38.5s because I had more in reserve to push to the limit.
“It was quite a comfortable race, I must say, especially when you lead from the start.”
Sharing the Portimao podium with Martin and Bastianini was the rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, who, like Martin, secured P3 in just his second MotoGP race.
When questioned about his surprise at seeing Acosta on the podium so early in his premier class career, Martin replied, “I’m not taken aback. He reminds me of myself a bit, as I also clinched third place in my second race.
“He’ll definitely be one of the formidable contenders to beat in the future, but it’s not surprising because we all recognized his talent.”
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