Winner at the finish line of the Sprint then 2nd in the French MotoGP Grand Prix, George Martin finally had a very good weekend on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans, for the 5th stage of the world championship.
It is even the one who garnered the most points (32 against 28 in Marco Bezzecchi), which allows it to stick to Brad Binder in the championship, in 4th place. But it was not without adventures...
As usual, we report his words here without the slightest formatting.
Second in this race in France, Jorge Martin, from the Pramac Racing team: After yesterday's Sprint victory, it seems to have given you a big boost, a big boost of confidence. There was some drama throughout the Grand Prix, including a very, very early crash, so tell us about that, Jorge…
George Martin : " Yes, I expected a different start than yesterday. Yesterday everything went really well, today too, but I was 4 or 5th, I think, and then I had a big heat with Luca. I almost hit him in turn 8. I actually hit him with my front tire but I tried not to hit him. And then, yes, I took a long tour. I did a great lap and then I was 10th. So yeah, I was relaxed, tried to set up my pace and slowly get back into the lead group, not using the front tire much. And yes, afterwards, when I joined the leading group, I had a big, very big battle with Marc. I really enjoyed it, because I think we had a few moments in Portimão, so I think it was the way to, you know, solve all our problems on the track, and he was fast. He was, you know, aggressive, but we were both giving each other space and eventually I tried to overtake at a place where I thought he was struggling a little bit. And yeah, he made a mistake. I am happy with this podium, my first of the season. It's certain that I was fast in the Sprint, but finally the podium on Sunday counts a lot. »
Jorge, like Marco, you were also very, very close to that nasty incident involving Luca Marini and Álex Márquez at the exit of turn 4. You did a fantastic job of avoiding them both: Can you tell us about this scary moment, from your point of view?
« Yes, you know, the climb back was a bit difficult because I overtook a few riders, but, as we saw during the race, I just tried to avoid the fall. And in fact, with Luca, I was very lucky because I had Márquez, Álex in front of me, so I didn't see anything. When I got the bike up, I saw a lot of things and I tried to move the bike, and then, yes, I was lucky. I touched up Luca and I was on the bike. I lost a lot of time with Marc, but we finally recovered the gap in one or two laps. And yes, I was lucky today. I got this, you know, this thing and I was able to finish the race, that was enough. »
We talk about this battle with Marc. You looked like you were having fun. You emerged victorious. Obviously you've had a few words this season after Portimão and after what happened with Álex at COTA. So you enjoyed this battle. And like I said, it's good to have beaten him in that fight...
« Yes, after the race we met in the TV area and he congratulated me on the battle. I think he's one of the toughest guys to fight against. Yesterday I studied his race with Pecco to try to understand how to overtake him, and yes, maybe it didn't help much (laughs). And yes, I think I wasted a lot of time. It was good. I had a lot of fun, but I lost a lot of opportunities to go with Marco, because I feel like my pace was much faster. But you know, I have to improve my overtaking, I have to improve when I ride with other riders because I have difficulty managing the pressure of the front tire. But it doesn't matter, I need to learn. I think today with him I learned a lot and I hope I can put that into practice in the next race.
»
You said you had difficulty with the front tire pressure while following Marc. It appears that many teams have made progress in handling this issue. Was this a big problem for you or a small problem? Did you have to back down? Have you lost grip?
« I think today it was a combination of all that because he was with the hard front, so he had extra braking. That's all. I had a weak point when the bike was straight and a strong point when the bike was on an angle, so I think today it was a mix of conditions, but I think the most important thing was is that in Jerez I was a bit on the limit because it was too hot, but here I had my chances, at least to fight, which normally in Jerez I didn't have, and here I I was able to do it. You know, I don't know how many attacks I made on him, 7 or 8, I don't know, it was a lot, so I feel like we're improving too, and we're getting closer to our maximum. We just need, I mean on my side, to have a little more confidence at this point, but I feel like going from 10th to 2nd place I had to double three or four riders, so I was strong and I feel better. »
Results of the French MotoGP Grand Prix at Le Mans:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
