It's fair to say Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) has had a rollercoaster start to life in MotoGP™. From podium success in Qatar to the emergency room in Portugal and then to standing on top of the podium at Austria one week ago. But, as Last On The Brakes hosts Matt Dunn and Fran Wyld found out, those trials and tribulations aren't new for the Spaniard.
After winning the Moto3™ World Championship in 2018, Martin got a dream move to the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad in Moto2™ for 2019. However, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare as the Austrian factory suffered serious struggles through the opening half of the year. The now 23-year-old went from winning races to scrapping for points, something he said was a challenge adjusting to.
"When I won the World Championship and I jumped into Moto2, my expectations were really high," started the Pramac Racing man in the latest episode of the MotoGP™ Podcast. "You come from winning almost every race and then you go to Moto2 and you are 15th, so this was really difficult for me mentally. I remember I was crying a lot, sometimes after maybe FP3 when I was out of Q2 or some moments that you… I was doubting about myself.
"Even though I was a World Champion, I was doubting on myself and, you know, this was really tough. In the end, the only person that knows me is me. And I was able to regain this motivation and tried to fight back. I was motivated enough to get back on the podium but it wasn't easy.
Martin admits his toughest challenge came this year, though. His horror crash in Portimao left him with multiple broken bones, numerous surgeries and the thought that the dream he's been striving for all of his life could be over after only two Grands Prix. It took real mental fortitude for the Spaniard to recover like he did but, as he admits, it was the darkest period of his young career.
"My last injury was tough. There was a moment that I was thinking to quit because there were some really tough moments. But, afterwards, I think 'yeah, I want to win, I want results' and that's why I keep pushing myself. For sure, it's better not to have these moments because just thinking about [quitting] for one second is not good.
For sure some part of you wants to quit if you think about it but, when you are at your lowest, you don't think about winning, you don't think about celebrating you just have pain and you don't want to be in that pain. But yeah, when you improve then you feel better again and you want to come back and train again to be on the bike, but in that moment it was really difficult."
Head over to your favourite Podcast platform to listen to the full chat with Jorge Martin, as well as any episodes you may have missed!