Jorge Martin “ready to suffer” in Catalunya, despite “unreal” Le Mans MotoGP

Jorge Martin returns to Catalunya, the circuit where he secured the 2024 MotoGP title, trailing championship-leading team-mate Marco Bezzecchi by just a single point.

The Spaniard closed in on Bezzecchi by heading an historic Aprilia one-two-three at Le Mans last weekend.

“Le Mans was incredible. I really enjoyed that moment, and also for Aprilia, being first, second and third is unreal. So really happy for them,” said Martin on Thursday.

Martin’s perfect double victory saw the Spaniard lead from the front in the Sprint, then fight through the pack to pass Bezzecchi late in the grand prix.

As such, momentum looks to be on Martin’s side heading into this weekend.

"We have to be ready to suffer"

“For sure, the confidence is always growing. Every lap is an opportunity to get to know the bike a bit more. In the Jerez test, I think I did a great step with some new pieces,” he said.

However, Martin is taking nothing for granted after the best Aprilia finished no higher than sixth at the notoriously slippery circuit last season.

“I think this is maybe one of the most difficult tracks for us,” he said. “I like the layout a lot, but Alex [Marquez] won last year, KTM can be super strong also, so we have to be ready to suffer also and let's see if we can achieve a good result.”

Martin also has mixed personal memories of Barcelona.

“I have really good memories from this track, but I have also bad memories,” he said. “I broke my foot here, I crashed leading in Moto3.

“I will try to enjoy the weekend and I think the most different thing now is that I really enjoy the moment.

“In the bad moments, you realise that you want to stay healthy. Now I'm healthy, feeling good and I'm really grateful for that.”

Fuel tank shape

Martin used last month’s Jerez test to make up for lost track time in pre-season testing, including refinement of his riding position and a bespoke fuel tank shape.

“When I jumped onto the Aprilia, I was getting really tired. It was really a problem for me,” he explained.

“When I came back in Qatar [last year], after two laps I couldn't ride anymore. So we were really focused on my position on the bike.

“Until Jerez, I was still changing handlebars, some position on the levers.

“So it was a huge work. I have to recognise that Aprilia are amazing in terms of designing pieces - and that [tank] is our final engineered product!

“It's working really well.”

Shoulder down?

Turn 5 at Barcelona has often been the scene of Martin spectacularly dragging his shoulder along the kerbing during extreme lean angles.

However, that might depend on the weather this weekend.

“Looking at the weather, it seems it will be really cold, so maybe tomorrow is not the day to make some crazy thing. But I think shoulder down now is easy for me!”