Jorge Martin has plenty of reasons to smile at Spielberg: he also announced an important decision

The championship leader is satisfied after the race at the Red Bull Ring: the final result is good, and there’s something else that makes him smile.

For Jorge Martin, the Austrian Grand Prix weekend was positive. Pole position, victory in the sprint race, second place in the long race, and sole lead in the MotoGP overall standings. He was the fastest Aprilia rider in Spielberg, leaving with a 12-point lead over Marc Marquez and 42 over Marco Bezzecchi.

The results look even better considering that Martinator arrived at the Red Bull Ring with doubts about the condition of his right forearm. He suffered from compartment syndrome at Misano, and there was a risk the problem would return. It didn’t, and he was able to complete the Austrian weekend getting the maximum possible.

The two-time world champion didn’t have the pace to stay with Pedro Acosta, and he didn’t make any calculations about the title chase: “I don’t look at the standings,” he told Sky Sport MotoGP, “and even less so during the race. I tried to push from the start, but Pedro was much stronger than me. I tried to stay behind him for a few laps to also save some fuel. We did find speed, but we need to understand how to improve in low-grip conditions, because we’ll face them again in other races.”

When Acosta overtook him decisively on acceleration out of Turn 1, it seemed a bit odd. Martin has an explanation: “At that moment the dashboard was telling me I wouldn’t make it to the end of the race, so I let him pass. I tucked in behind to save a bit of fuel with the goal of attacking again once the alarm disappeared. When I thought I could attack, I realized it would be tough to get close to Pedro. He did well to manage mid-race to break away; that was the key to winning. Over the last six laps I had no tire left.”

Ducati’s favorable and Aprilia’s unfavorable precedents had led Martinator to think the weekend in Austria would be complicated, but there was a strong signal from the Noale team: “This was a track where we thought we’d lose points, but instead we were faster than Ducati. This is very positive, given it’s a stop-and-go track where we’ve suffered in the past. I hope to fight to the end; I don’t know if we’ll win or not, but we’re putting in the grit and the work.”

Finally, the Madrid rider revealed he likely won’t undergo surgery on his right forearm after the Austrian GP: “I’m fine,” he explains, “even though I haven’t recovered 100% from Misano. I struggled a bit in the final laps, but it didn’t limit my riding like at Misano. I think I’ll carry on like this; it’s not the time for an operation, it’s also a big risk. We’ll wait, I’ll rest, and I’ll try to get the most out of it this way.” A conservative approach, hoping it proves to be the right decision.

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