"It’s strange to brake and feel like crashing all the time" - Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin lost the championship lead he’d only regained at Silverstone in today’s Austrian Grand Prix, after he finished second to Francesco Bagnaia.

Since MotoGP returned from its summer break at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, Martin has finished second in both Sprints and both Grands Prix.

“I’m a bit frustrated because I feel I had the potential to win today,” Martin told to post-race press conference after the Austrian Grand Prix. “Pecco [Bagnaia] seems to be a bit better at the moment. I did a good race, I think I did a good start, but from the moment I was in second I think I lose almost all my possibilities for the victory.

“Overall, I did a good race, even at the end I was having a good pace, big difference compared to the rest. It seems like now Pecco and me, we are a step ahead.

“More points, four second positions in a row, so hopefully I can improve that result next time. [...] The important thing is that I give my 100 per cent, so let’s move to Aragon and try again.”

One of the stories of the weekend was Martin cutting his left thumb on Friday evening. After the Sprint, he explained that it was mostly a problem at the start, but fine while riding. Having made the holeshot in the Grand Prix, Martin was not using his thumb as an excuse for being unable to challenge Bagnaia late on in the race.

“Yesterday I said it [the thumb] was okay and today was not a problem,” Martin said. “Now it gets a bit inflamed, but it wasn’t an issue at all during riding.”

While Martin’s thumb injury was something he had to deal with specifically this weekend in Austria, front tyre locking during braking is something that, while exaggerated in Austria, is something he’s been dealing with for years.

“For sure we have a lot of front lock in Ducati, but this is not new, this is for the last three seasons,” Martin said. “We are kind of used to it. For sure here it’s a bit worse, but it’s really normal. We felt a lot also with these hot temperatures.

“When you have more transfer to the front, we have a bit less, so you have to find the balance, but this will not disappear so [...] from my side I ride with this locking.”

Martin explained that, during the race while in the slipstream of Bagnaia the locking got worse.

“I had a lot during this weekend,” he said, “and even behind Pecco in the race it was even worse because everything gets so hot.

“So, it’s kind of strange to brake and feel like crashing all the time, but we control it.”