Jorge Martin admitted he was on the “absolute limit” trying to hold off Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi en-route to securing victory in the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix.
The Pramac Ducati pilot converted pole into the early race lead thanks to a solid start, though he soon came under pressure from title rivals Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, the former looking every which way to snatch away the advantage as he desperately searched for clean air.
Much as he did in the Saturday sprint, Martin rode a perfect race with no mistakes and held off Bagnaia long enough for the Italian to start struggling physically as a result of his injured leg, allowing him to sustain his lead until the very end – even as Bezzecchi had a crack at denying him supremacy – Martin collecting his third career win in the process to further narrow Bagnaia’s points lead to 36.
The 2018 Moto3 world champion explained that the San Marino event turned into a “special weekend” having possessed winning speed at a venue he has traditionally struggled, though added that he had to ride at the “absolute limit” to hold off the flying Bagnaia and Bezzecchi across the race distance.
“It’s been a special weekend because I felt coming here that it wasn’t a great track for me, but straight away in FP1 I felt super comfortable and the feeling was great,” said Martin.
“I didn’t touch the bike (set-up) and just focussed on working on my (electronic) maps, and I think this was the key to success here.
“Already yesterday I felt they (Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia) would arrive in terms of pace, and then today I didn’t do a bad start and I was first but I could hear their engines and see on the TV’s that they were super close.
“I was on the absolute limit trying to push so hard trying to keep the distance, and then when I was two seconds clear I felt comfortable again – but then they started catching again so I had to push even more, but I’m happy to secure the win.
“To win Ducati’s home race in front of my Italian team is unbelievable, so I’m really happy.”
Martin’s job was made all the harder after he picked up a track limits warning around half-distance, leaving him with the dilemma of having to push to extend his advantage over his pursuers without touching the green on corner exit, something that left him “worried.”
“When the time to push came I had already seen the track limit warning, so I was a bit worried about touching the corner exits, especially at Turn 11 because I think that was my worst place,” continued the three-time premier class race victor.
“I had to manage the situation and try to be fast without touching the green, so it was more difficult than yesterday.
“I tried to let the laps go because the grip at the beginning was so low because of the Moto2 race I think, but then I saw a small weakness when I pulled a small gap and tried to push a bit more.
“This part was clear to make the gap, and all the points I scored this weekend are amazing.”
