Jorge Martin on early title lead: ‘Hopefully I can keep it for more than 24 hours’
Jorge Martin might have won the first MotoGP sprint of 2024 but it wasn’t without issue for the Spaniard.
Jorge Martin led every lap of the first MotoGP sprint race of 2024, as he got the better of Brad Binder and Aleix Espargaro.
Starting from pole, Martin faced early pressure from Binder before controlling the pace.
But Martin was having to push as hard as he could after overcoming similar chatter problems as the pre-season test.
“It was a nice race, a nice Saturday to start the season,” said Martin. “I am really happy. For sure, we have a lot of work to do for tomorrow because I had some issues in the race which we need to improve for tomorrow because it is a much longer race.
“But for today I’m pretty happy. Hopefully I will improve tomorrow.”
Regarding the issue, Martin did not want to dive into too many details although he admitted it was a continuation of the test.
Martin added: “I don’t want to speak a lot about the problem because I don’t know if I can. But I had some issues which were the same as in the test.
“During the weekend it was quite okay but today it wasn’t so we need to understand well and make a step.
“As soon as we solve that problem I can be much faster. It is what it is but let’s try to take the maximum out of the situation.”
Leader of the world championship for the second time in his career, first time since the Indonesian MotoGP at Mandalika, Martin said the points advantage he has is not on his mind going into the first grand prix of 2024.
“It’s a great feeling for sure,” began Martin. “Hopefully I can keep it for more than 24 hours.
“It is not my biggest concern right now. I just want to be competitive and on the podium tomorrow.”
