Jorge Martin went against Aprilia’s wishes in US MotoGP sprint

Jorge Martin says he was behind the medium tyre strategy that saw him win the US MotoGP sprint on the final lap.

Unlike the rest of the grid, Martin made a late switch to the medium rear instead of the soft, which he admits was against the wishes of Aprilia. 

During the opening few laps there didn’t seem to be much in it between both tyres, however, the medium rear came into its own in the closing stages as Martin gained a second over race leader Francesco Bagnaia on the penultimate lap.

Martin then closed in even more on the final lap before making a late move on Bagnaia at turn 12, which was enough to see him win his first race for Aprilia. 

Speaking to MotoGP.com, Martin said: “I’m so happy about today. I never thought that when I started the season in Thailand, that I would be winning races after three rounds. 

“It’s unbelievable. I’m so thankful to Aprilia. They are helping me a lot to reach my level again. 

“I feel like a better rider than I was in the past. I feel stronger. I still feel some issues with my physical condition in terms of pain. 

“Today was a long race for me. I was able to be calm throughout the laps because I knew my medium was cooking. It was getting better and better. My strategy was perfect and I’m happy it paid off.”

Martin added that it was purely his call to choose the medium, as Aprilia preferred to do what the majority of the grid did by running a soft rear.

“I convinced the team to go with the medium,” said Martin. “They wanted to go with the soft, [same] as everybody [else]. But after FP2 I was really clear that my choice was the medium. 

“I had to convince the team but I told them ‘okay, today we will see [and] if it’s not the right choice, then we will always do as the rest [of the grid]’.

“This is how I convinced them. It was the right choice. In the first laps I was struggling a bit to be together with the bike but in the end it paid off and I was a bit stronger than the rest.”

Martin’s sprint win will be a major breakthrough for him and Aprilia, however, he will hope that future victories don’t end in the same way as the slow down lap did at COTA. 

That’s because Martin crashed while doing a celebratory wheelie, which he laughed off afterwards.

Martin jokingly said: “A lot of riders can win, but not a lot of riders can crash doing a wheelie going back to the pits. 

“It was Martinator style as always. A bit of a mess. Luckily I am okay, and the bike is not really damaged.”