Jorge Martin, Wins, MotoGP race, Thailand MotoGP 29 October 2023 // Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202310290145 // Usage for editorial use only //
Jorge Martin described his relentless defence of the lead in the Thai Grand Prix as “one of my best races” as he closed further on the MotoGP points lead.
The Pramac Ducati rider held the lead from pole off the start, though found himself under constant pressure from KTM’s Brad Binder, and later title rival Francesco Bagnaia, across the entirety of the 26-lap contest.
Binder in particular looked to have more rear grip in the latter stages at the Chang International Circuit, though he struggled to find a way past Martin as he continually nailed every braking zone in his defence of a fourth win of the season.
Binder eventually found a way through with just four laps remaining, though Martin remained close and managed to find a way back through with a bold move at Turn 2 on the penultimate lap – the Spaniard ultimately hanging on by just 0.114s to sweep the Thai weekend.
Reducing his points deficit against Bagnaia to just 13 with three weekends remaining in 2023, Martin felt his Thai run was one of the “best races of my life” bearing in mind how “mentally difficult” it was to keep both Binder and his main title rival behind for so long.
“That was one of the best races of my life, that’s for sure,” explained Martin.
“When they caught me in the last part of the race I think they were a bit faster than me, I managed the tyre a lot but they were a bit stronger.
“Leading for 20 laps and having a tenth (of a second) advantage was really mentally difficult, but I was able to keep concentrated to the end and could win.
“I could hear his engine a lot out of Turn 7 so I knew he was going to try there, and I was a bit on the limit with the tyre there so I thought he had more grip than me.
“But as soon as he overtook me and in front I could see he was also on the limit with rear grip, so I tried to keep the distance for a lap and then take him back because I didn’t want my front tyre to get hot.”
Martin added that he was “relieved” to hang onto his potentially crucial fourth win of the year as he looks to secure a maiden premier class crown, and insisted that the mistakes which cost him wins in Indonesia and Australia have made him “stronger.”
“I was relieved to finish at the top because I’ve had a lot of mistakes recently, I didn’t even enjoy the win yesterday because I was so focussed on today. I haven’t slept for four days, but tonight I’ll sleep well,” continued Martin.
“I’m happy because the target was to recover points and we did it. To break the lap record, get pole position and then win both races is great. I can’t lie I’m starting to feel the pressure, but the main target is to recover points and we are achieving this.
“I think the mistakes from the other races were tough for me, but they made me stronger.”
Keyword: Martin’s dogged Thai defensive display “one of the best races of my life”