Jorge Martin: “I’ll be more aggressive, you pass or they pass you”

Jorge Martin admits he needs to raise his aggression levels when fighting in the MotoGP mid-pack, after losing early ground in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

The reigning MotoGP champion, still playing catch-up after missing pre-season testing and then ten rounds through injury, surged from 14th on the grid into the top ten on the opening lap at the Red Bull Ring.

But Martin was soon shuffled back to where he had started.

“I did a great start. And then I was too safe,” Martin explained. “Like, ‘okay, I'm ninth. I'm in a good place, so just wait and my pace will do the rest’. But as soon as I thought, ‘stay relaxed’, everybody started to hit me! It was like a big mess with a lot of different riders.

“I went back to 14th, so I was trying to recover. I did a ‘29.9. That wasn't bad. It was the fastest lap of that moment [lap 8]. So the pace is not bad, but being behind the pack is so, so difficult.

“I'm not used to it, so I struggle when I'm in that position. And also I miss a bit the experience of the first two laps. I miss to be more aggressive with the other riders. Either you pass or they pass you.

“I'm sure in Hungary [this weekend] I will be more aggressive in the first laps.”

Martin’s hopes of salvaging a top ten finish ended when he crashed at mid-distance, fortunately escaping further injury.

“I was suffering from the second lap with a really high pressure in the front and I was struggling to ride,” he said. “It's one of the worst places to crash but finally everything was okay.

“Now I can confirm that my injury from Qatar is 100% recovered!”

The Austrian weekend was Martin’s third on the Aprilia RS-GP, with the Spaniard comparing his current learning curve to that of team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, who claimed his fourth podium of the season in Spielberg.

“We are making steps forward, and we are closing the gap to the front runners. So, we just need to do a great qualifying,” Martin said.

“I feel like it's the same as was happening to Marco [Bezzecchi] at the beginning of the season. Struggling to make one fast lap, then everything is more difficult in the race.

“So as soon as we go in a good position in the qualifying, we will be ready to make good results.”

Looking ahead to MotoGP’s debut at Balaton Park this weekend, Martin added:

“I need time, although it isn’t always easy to accept being behind when I’m giving one hundred percent.

“The goal at Balaton will be to continue growing on a track that is new for everyone. Getting kilometres in will be especially important, as well as getting increasingly closer to a good feeling, because we have incredibly huge potential.”

Martin's best Aprilia finish so far is seventh in the Czech MotoGP at Brno.