"I didn't wash my head for a week" - Martin

Pramac Racing’s newest recruit Jorge Martin may not have made his debut yet in the MotoGP™ Championship, but that hasn’t stopped him from thinking big as he looks to take the premier class by storm.

Two very productive seasons in Moto2™ made the Bologna outfit take notice of the Madrid man, and they have now handed him the opportunity to do it on the biggest stage, something he has been dreaming of since he was just knee-high.

Beyond the sporting goals that the Spanish rider has set himself to achieve during this campaign and the future, 'The Martinator' is looking forward to the start of the season in Qatar to be able to meet the rest of the grid and the riders who he idolized as a child.

“The rider I most want to meet on the track, and the one I most want to win, is Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). I say this because we have been rivals since we were little. We already fought together for a title in the Rookies Cup, with an age that is not easy to manage and with better and worse moments between us. Then when he was the Moto3™ champion, I had the speed, I stuck my head out and I did nine poles that year. I want to fight him again, but already in MotoGP™.”

“I am excited to meet Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) on the grid, because he was my idol as a child. I have a photo with him being a kid where he is touching my head. I don't think I washed my head in a week! It was in Valencia 2006, but it was not my fault that I lost the title in that race. Now we are going to meet on the MotoGP™ grid, he is 42 years old and I am 22. He could be my father. He is not as fast as before, but he has a lot of merit to continue there.”

In the photo, a very young Martin posed next to the 'Doctor' at the 2006 Valencia Grand Prix, where Rossi missed out on the title to the late Nicky Hayden after suffering an unfortunate crash in the final race of the year.

Reverting back to the present, Martin has his own ambitions of following in the footsteps of his idol and become the best in class this season, along with loftier ambitions in the future. 

“The objective is to be the best rookie of the season, but it is clear that there are riders with whom I have already ridden in other categories, such as Bagnaia or Mir, who is the Champion, so I can also be there. I don't know how long it will take to get to the top, but I think I will become MotoGP™ champion," said Martin in an interview with as.com.

"I have ten or twelve years ahead of me and, if injuries do not prevent it, which is something that has already happened to me, I will be able to fight to win. I train with very high-level riders, like Maverick and others, and I feel at their level.”