Jorge Martín Almoguera (San Sebastián de los Reyes, 1998) is a type of agile and expressive verb. Although sometimes loquacity has played a trick on him. “I have to keep quiet about what I think,” admits Martinator, who was Moto3 champion (2018) and lives his best season in the premier class in his third year. Second in the World Cup, he is the strongest rival that Pecco Bagnaia has encountered. Vehement and daring, he does not hesitate to affirm to this newspaper that he can challenge the title to the champion… even if he has to go over Borgo Panigale.
He arrives in Montmeló second, 66 points behind Bagnaia (after the Sprint). Is the title fight possible?
Taking into account that Bagnaia cut 91 points in 8 races against Quartararo last year, it is not impossible. Obviously, Pecco is in a very sweet moment, things work out for him, he doesn’t make mistakes… but I am convinced that if I already beat him in Germany in a face-to-face race, and I do every weekend without mistakes, I can fight for winning more races. You have to keep dreaming.
How is Pecco stopped?
Without making mistakes. I also have great regularity: since Jerez I have finished every race. I lacked a better result, due to mistakes in qualifying or bad luck at the start, which meant that I was not in the race to win. But I always had the rhythm and the speed.
Where do you expect more to be subtracted from Pecco, from the Ducati army, from the Aprilia…?
Anyone who gets between him and me will be fine, but right now I don’t see anyone. When I’m not there to stand up to him, there is no clear candidate [to subtract him]. The more bikes that enter the fight, Bezzecchi, Binder, the better for the championship.
Do you think Ducati will allow you to fight Bagnaia unconditionally at the end of the tight season?
We will only find out the day we both arrive with options, gambling everything on one or two races.
Honestly, do you trust that there will be equality?
Yes, I trust that, with what Ducati has invested in me, they give me the same options as him [Bagnaia] to fight for the World Championship…
With Bastianini last year it seemed that there was no brake…
Yes, there was… They told us that we had to be careful, that you couldn’t overtake him… From very early on in the season we were very careful with him, in the end that conditioned you in the races.
And now there is that notice?
This year no. And even if Ducati told me something, I wouldn’t listen. Last year, when he no longer had any options, they tried to help him, especially we had to be careful with him if we were going to overtake him.
Do you think that Bagnaia sees you as his main rival?
I have been the only one that the you to you has been able to beat him, there has not been another that has done it. By beating him in Germany [in the Sprint and the Sunday race] I grew up and he saw it. And every weekend I’ve been there.
Can this good line help you to get on the official team?
Yes, yes, my goal is to become an official Ducati as soon as possible, I am achieving results that speak for themselves, I hope Ducati values ??it.
How is your rivalry with Pecco Bagnaia? Because they were neighbors for a couple of years…
We were sleeping together every day at the circuit, in the motorhome, because we were Moto3 teammates [at Aspar, in 2015-16], and we made a great bond, we were very friends… Well, we are friends, but you lose the relationship over the years. Now we get along very well, but we don’t have friendship. There is a lot of respect and I admire him.
Does that influence the track?
No, on the track you forget. We are both quite clean riders, we don’t come into contact, we have had fights in Moto3, and now in MotoGP, since we were little we have progressed together.
In MotoGP are the rivalries softer now? Is there a tougher fight like the one between Rossi and Márquez, or Rossi and Lorenzo?
It is not that it is missing, but a toxic rivalry or one with more evil and hatred between the pilots is more striking than a rivalry with good vibes, because that generates fans and supporters of one and the other. We don’t have that now; now there is respect, a good relationship, we risk our lives every weekend and we don’t have the need to hate each other.
You don’t see him in the middle of one of those “toxic rivalries”…
If they provoke me, it could happen, but nobody has done anything to me. I have respect for everyone and a good friendship with Aleix [Espargaró], but the rest are not my friends.
It is a question of chemistry with the rival. In Portugal he had them with Marc Márquez, for example.
Yes, sparks can fly from a touch with a certain pilot, but it is not the level of hatred that Senna and Prost had, or Lorenzo and Pedrosa, or Marc and Valentino. Before, two fought for the title, and now there are more rivals and more equality, and everything calms down.
And then there is the character of each one. How is Jorge Martin?
I am more of a short fuse and at the minimum I get hot. But I try to keep the forms because at the minimum that you say the whole world is on you on social networks. It is a critical moment.
Has it been censored?
Yes, a lot, for a thousand situations that happen in the race, you can’t say what you think because they make you give birth. Better shut up…
What is missing from MotoGP?
It lacks a stronger rivalry between pilots, it would attract attention at the media level.
If Dorna asked you, what would you suggest to improve?
Perhaps a slightly crazy idea would be to do a time attack in a single lap, for the classification to depend only on one lap for each driver, starting one after the other. It would be interesting to see us at the limit. Or reward pole position and fastest lap with an extra point…
What comes to mind when you see Marc Márquez in such a disappointing situation?
Well, you have to take advantage when you have a competitive motorcycle because you never know if something will stop working. It happened to me last year: you lose two tenths and go from winning to being 8th. You have to make good decisions.
Do you see him following at Honda?
Only he knows. Having a contract next year, I see him at Honda, but if he doesn’t see solutions he will have to look elsewhere.
Are you in favor of concessions to Honda and Yamaha?
There should be a system whereby you can have some advantage to get back into the fight. It would help the show and the brands resurface, it would be nice for everyone and for the championship.
