Martin: “It was a really hard weekend for me”

The Spaniard secured a miraculous P3 at the Austrian GP just one week after breaking his wrist in Brno

The ‘Martinator’. A word that was used to describe Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) after his sensational race at the Austrian GP, in which he crossed the line third just over a week after breaking his wrist in Brno.

“Well it was a really hard weekend for me, also a really hard week and a lot of work during the weekend for me here,” explained the Spaniard after it looked at one stage that riding at the Red Bull Ring might not be possible.

However, Martin made it possible and by Saturday afternoon, the 20-year-old had somehow managed to qualify second for Sunday’s race and despite the Honda’s straight line speed deficit to the KTM’s, he went on to take a phenomenal podium after a race-long battle with title rival Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP), Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team) and Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai).

“It was a really hard weekend because the Honda is not so fast on the straight so I lost, I don’t know, six or seven tenths during the lap because of the engine and I had to recover on the left corners because this is where I was strong, but it was the point with more pain, it was really really difficult.

“Also, I was struggling with Masia and Arenas, it was really difficult to battle with them and we raced at the limit. The pain was better than yesterday, thanks to all the doctors that helped me to be fit, now I’ll try to recover for Silverstone, a really good track for me, and even more for Misano.”

Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) joined the fray late on to snatch second, with Martin overtaking Masia on the final corner to deny his compatriot a first career podium – a move that was briefly investigated by the stewards. “I didn’t know it was under investigation, hopefully they left me the position because you know in a battle with the last lap you have to fight, and it was the only option to go up the inside. Their bikes were so fast, and I had to recover on the braking, which was my strong point, it was a really difficult race but I’m happy.”

And what has Martin learned this weekend? Always be optimistic: “I think it was a really strong day for me, for the future, for my mentality, I learned a lot this weekend. You have to be optimistic when you see things are really black, that’s what we say in Spanish, you have to watch the light and this weekend I did, and we’ll improve in the future.”

Silverstone is next for Martin who can now take a couple of weeks to recover before he aims to be at the sharp end again at the British GP.