Marc Marquez MotoGP title battle "a privilege" for Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin’s attempts to hold Marc Marquez at bay in the Japanese MotoGP worked for a few laps, but the nine-time world champion again showed why he’s the favourite for the title.

Starting from pole for the second time this weekend, Martin made a better launch than Marquez and therefore retained the lead into turn one.

The two Spaniards remained in those positions as they pulled clear of Marco Bezzecchi, however, it soon became clear that Marquez had slightly more speed.

That was then highlighted with a brilliant overtake at turn nine by the reigning world champion, who never relinquished the lead from there.

Losing out on two victories to his closest title rival will no doubt hurt Martin, but the Aprilia rider could regain the advantage in Indonesia next weekend, a circuit that’s expected to suit the RS-GP26 more than the Desmosedici GP26.

“I’m happy about my performance,” said Martin post-race. “For sure I did some small mistakes. Anyway, with the riding style I had I thought I was able to win, but Marc [Marquez] was unbeatable today. 

“I did my best. I tried to push until the end to maybe force an error and close the gap, but it was really difficult. 

“I think that in a track where Aprilia used to struggle, finally, we did a first podium and a track record.”

That last point is worth remembering, as the Italian brand’s first Motegi podium once again shows just how strong Aprilia, and both its factory riders have been this season.

But when discussing his chances of winning the title, Martin admitted Marquez is going to be very difficult to beat.

Martin added: “We were able to make the difference during the weekend. I feel like I closed the gap to him in the left corners, but still it is not enough. 

“That first sector he was really competitive. But there are other points of the track where I felt better than him. Let’s see in the next races. 

“It will be really difficult to beat him, but it is a privilege to be fighting with Marc at this stage in the championship and still in the lead.”