Jorge Martin "almost crashed" in MotoGP sprint near-miss with Marc Marquez

Jorge Martin says he “almost crashed” during his lap one near-miss with Marc Marquez at the start of the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix sprint.

The Aprilia rider snatched pole in a thrilling qualifying session, before rebounding from dropping to eighth on the opening lap of the sprint to win after Pedro Acosta crashed from the lead late on.

It’s a result that puts him three points clear of Marc Marquez in the championship, though the pair had two flashpoints during the sprint.

Jorge Martin held the lead out of Turn 1 at the start, but Marquez launched an aggressive overtake on the inside of him at the Turn 2 chicane, forcing the Aprilia rider wide.

On the cutback, Martin says he nearly crashed, which is why he lost so many positions, but ultimately branded the move as “racing”.

“I think there was nothing I could do,” he said.

“I did the first corner well, and then second corner I braked so hard to try to keep the position, even though I heard a red bullet going there.

“But the important thing is that I didn’t go wide; I was able to keep the line, let’s say.

“But then when I did the change of direction, I almost crashed. So, that was the moment where I started to lose positions.

“This is racing. I hope that tomorrow I will be a bit more clever and try to understand where to pass.

“I knew he was going to try it, as he always does. I was ready for everything, and I was able to stay on the bike.”

Martin put on a similarly aggressive move on Marquez to take second from him at Turn 1 on lap eight of 14.

“The thing is, when I overtook Marc, if you overtake him just like another rider, he will overtake you back,” he explained.

“So, you need to stop the bike a bit more to try to keep the good exit, and that’s what I did - not only with him, but with also Alex [Marquez], Marco [Bezzecchi].

“It’s really important nowadays in MotoGP, and even more so on this track, to keep a good line for the exit.”

Martin thinks he can avoid arm surgery now

Martin’s sprint win in Austria also comes as he faces a key decision on surgery for an arm pump issue that struck last weekend at Misano.

However, he feels he may be able to avoid the operation now.

“Much better than in Misano on Saturday,” he said about his arm.

“For sure, I feel it has worked a lot, but because I was pushing to my limit. So, I think we are in the good way.

“Tomorrow I will make a decision, but it seems we can avoid surgery.

“It’s not only physio, but a lot of therapies as well as physio, so maybe two hours a day. Also at home, every day, it’s important.”

On his sprint win, Martin added: “Well, I never forgot how to ride. I think it’s my best version, for sure, but nothing I didn’t do in the past.

“So, happy with my performance. For sure, I think I’m learning the bike more and more. That’s helped a lot to gain confidence.

“I think I had a lot of good sprints, for sure, but today the pace was really similar between Marc, Pedro and me.

“To be able to come back from eighth and overtake Marc again. For sure, Pedro crashed, that’s why I won.

“But to overtake Marc in maybe eight or seven laps, to be able to recover, was super nice. I had a hunger to be fast and I pulled out all of my talent today.”