Martin: I thought nobody would see the zip opening…
But when he glanced trackside and saw his open leathers being shown on the big screens, the Pramac Ducati rider knew he was in danger of a penalty if he didn't act quickly.
Fortunately for Martin, he was able to rezip the leathers with one hand and thus avoid a black flag.
After a last-lap tussle with Fabio Quartararo, the young Spaniard then held on to second place to close Francesco Bagnaia’s title lead down to just 13 points.
“We studied with Alpinestars. I didn’t close it correctly [before the start],” Martin admitted in Japan on Thursday. “With eight, nine laps to go I started to feel It.
“It opened slowly, I tried to finish like this, I thought nobody would see it. But when I saw it on the big screen, I tried to close it and lost just one second.”
The wardrobe malfunction wasn’t the only unexpected drama for Martin, who finished the race badly dehydrated but says he is fully fit for Motegi.
“I suffered dehydration. It was complicated but the doctors said [the recovery] went perfectly, after some hours I was okay,” Martin explained.
“I was trying to race in the straights. On the last lap I braked, I locked the front, I knew I was going outside. I went back, Fabio was there but went a little wide, just enough to cross him. I overtook, one of the best of my career.
“Then I went straight to the box because I knew something was happening [the dehydration].”
Having finished first or second in the last four races, momentum is well and truly on Martin’s side heading into this weekend.
“I need to enjoy this moment. It’s the best of my career. I need to try to win races, be in front in practice, this is the way. By enjoying the moment, everything else comes,” he said of the closing title fight.
“I have a lot of confidence. I have the best package that I can have with this bike. My first Moto2 podium was here, and last season I was third. Let’s try to again be on the podium.”
