There was nobody better on a Saturday in 2022 than Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin. The 2018 Moto3™ World Champion smashed lap records left, right and centre to secure five pole positions, including the last three of the campaign. But that blistering one-lap pace was never converted into victory. Despite now having claimed Saturday honours on a remarkable nine different occasions in his two premier class seasons, there's still only a single victory to his name.
That's something he knows he has to change in 2023 if the 25-year-old is to realise his obvious potential, and Simon Crafar believes that's about to happen. The 500cc Grand Prix winner and motogp.com pitlane reporter is confident the addition of ex-Aspar team boss, Gino Borsoi, will be the final piece to the puzzle for the Spaniard.
Borsoi won countless titles and helped develop a plethora of current MotoGP™ stars during his time with Aspar, including current World Champion Pecco Bagnaia and Martin himself in 2016. That ability to get the very best out of up-and-coming riders is what makes Crafar adamant he's the right man to unlock Martin's talent.
"I think Gino, as an ex-rider, has the know-how of what it takes to succeed," started Crafar when asked about the Pramac rider in After The Flag. "He’s proven that again and again during his time at Aspar. Jorge Martin is a real talent, we all know it, and I think Gino is the man to help squeeze that last bit out of him.
"I can see it in Jorge’s face, he’s so fit this year, and, from speaking with Gino, I know he’s been working with him closely on both the physical and mental side. I’m confident Gino is the key to seeing what we all know is inside Jorge.
"He’s got the talent, I really believe it. Last year he got a bit distracted and made mistakes. I think part of it was the mistake Ducati made with their engine, we know their 2022 engine was a mistake and he had to put up with it all year. Jorge now has a proven machine that Ducati won’t make the same mistakes with.
"You can’t put it all on Ducati though, as Jorge made some crucial errors himself. But I do think we’re starting to see the full potential. That talent is there, the bike’s there now, it’s all up to him. If he can keep focussed then I genuinely believe he’s going to be a real threat."
Crafar's opinion is something Borsoi agrees with. The Italian did admit "it's difficult to say" so early in the year whether Martin can challenge for the premier class crown, but he did reveal off-season talks between the pair have already identified what they think went wrong in 2022.
"We know he has the pace," said the 48-year-old. "It’s something we’ve discussed during the winter. We know where we have to work and we’ve started that work here in Sepang to try and fix the problem we saw last season. It’s important we improve in this area as I think he missed a lot there last year. If we’re able to do that, I think he’ll be one of the top riders this season."