Jorge Martin leaves Thailand with a smile, at the end of a challenging race in the wet where making a mistake could have jeopardized his title race. Some little mistake there was for sure, his wide at Turn 3 opened the door to Bagnaia who from there on dictated his pace, intimidated only by Marc Marquez who then lost the front in teh final stages of the race. Marc's crash, however, did allow Martin to archive the third-to-last race of the championship as a success. A second place in the sprint and a second step on the podium in the wet that allow him to maintain a decent lead in the standings. Now, with 17 points' advantage over Bagnaia, the Spaniard knows he will have to keep the level high, leaving the pressure of taking risks all on his Italian rival.
"Today was a very challenging race day - Jorge Martin explained - it was really difficult to try to beat Pecco with the track in these conditions. But I am satisfied, I think I finished a very good weekend, I was competitive in the dry and in the wet I still finished on the podium losing only 5 points, which is positive. The outlook from the perspective of the title race is very good, because before Japan I was 21 points behind and now I still have 17. In three races I've lost only 4 points, so I have to try to maintain these results. Too bad about the rain because in the dry I felt very competitive, Pecco was really competitive, he is a champion and for me it is a pleasure to be at this point of the championship fighting head to head against him."
At Turn 8 you took a big risk, as did Marquez who crashed in front of you.
"There were at least 15 other occasions when I risked a lot, at that moment I was trying not to let Pecco get away by waiting for him to make a mistake. When Marc crashed in that corner I entered with the same speed as him and the first thought was that I would also lose the front like he did, seeing him crash allowed me to anticipate managing to save it. I feel sorry for Marc, I think he was at a very high level today and I think he could have been fighting for the win with Pecco, but it was different. To tell the truth this weekend I think the GP23 had something less than the GP24, Marc was losing something in the straight."
When you woke up and realized it was going to be a wet race, what did you think?
"I woke up early when the rain started to fall incessantly. I was actually pretty calm, in the warmup the feeling was good, the only unknown would be the start so my strategy was to follow Pecco also in the choice of tires. We achieved our goal, which was to lose as few points as possible, at the moment he will have to take a few more risks."
In the early laps you started very aggressively, there was a wide gap that opened the door to Bagnaia and Marc.
"The morning started with very good feelings, I just made some adjustments to the bike, but as soon as we went out I realized it was not going to be an easy race. I was struggling to put all the power on the ground and it was very slippery in the corners. I tried to make up for it by giving my best, but in turn 3 I braked late and went wide. I remembered Acosta's crash yesterday and as soon as I realized the mistake I decided to be cautious by passing on the blue. Maybe I could have tried to save it but it would have been risky, but starting aggressively was necessary because I wanted to stay ahead of Pecco from the first laps. I think today even without that mistake I would have finished 2nd because Pecco was more competitive, but I am still satisfied with my performance."
At the start of the race we saw you discussing strategy with your men.
"We reviewed all the scenarios and strategy, checking the various maps. In Misano I made a mistake, so today it was important not to repeat it. It was raining a lot there, too. I didn't care if I finished tenth, my challenge now is only with Pecco."
At the end of the race what was the dominant emotion?
"I was happy with the result, normally I can never enjoy the moment on Saturday because I am already with my mind on Sunday's race. I think today the challenge of finishing on the podium was really big so to have ended the weekend like that, losing a few points, was positive. Of course, I also relaxed, because up to that point my concentration always remained very high. I think today was a great final test, finishing the race in these conditions while fighting for the title, taking big risks as well, gives me a lot of confidence for the future."
How do you see your title chances after this race?
"I never stopped believing in it and I still believe in it. Winning against Pecco in Malaysia will be a challenge, but I think I can be equally fast and competitive. These next few weeks will be the most important of my life so we will have to give it our all. I will spend the next few days preparing not only physically but also mentally, watching videos and working for the next race. Last year I felt the pressure more, this year I am handling it better. In the end every race is a kind of natural selection, between who will come prepared and who won't."
This year Michelin's are performing well on very different circuits.
"What happened last year was a coincidence, it happened once to me, once to Pecco. It's something you have no control over, if it happens to you in the race it's a stroke of bad luck."
