Jorge Martin has a terrible nickname. ‘The Martinator’ won’t trouble MotoGP iconography but fittingly describes a steely inevitability to the Pramac rider’s competitiveness and ability to set the bar of speed, regularity (and even style) in Grands Prix.
The 2018 Moto3 world champion has been working to this point since he emerged as a central title player in the premier class last season. Armed with the best motorcycle on the grid and having steered the Ducati Desmosedici from his rookie term in 2021, where he grabbed a podium finish in his second race and a win by mid-season after recovering from horrendous injuries sustained in a crash in Portugal’s third round, Martin has progressed from being a racer renowned for phenomenal one-lap speed to a formidable opponent with an all-round skill set and a stronger mentality.
From his emphatic debut in 2021, Martin has (perhaps unwillingly) cultivated an image of a man with a chip on his shoulder. At the end of 2022, he was overlooked in favour of Enea Bastianini for the second factory Ducati saddle next to world champion Francesco Bagnaia. During his duel with Bagnaia for the crown in 2023, there was a tangible ‘us versus them’ dynamic among the Pramac and factory Ducati teams.
Then in the opening period of 2024, Martin was again shunned for works Ducati status as the Italians decided to sign a two-year agreement with Marc Marquez. Martin’s reaction to Ducati’s second snub was to zip up his leathers and carry his helmet to the works Aprilia box for 2025 and 2026.
His air of confidence, and the slight swagger behind the good looks and the pace mean that Spanish fans have tended to talk more about Marquez returning to the peak of MotoGP after injury and his Ducati switch, or the emergence of starlet Pedro Acosta. Martin is popular, but also divisive.
Martin has been twice overlooked for a factory Ducati berth, but has the lead of the standings back after placing second behind Marquez in Aragon
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
More importantly, he is good. At last weekend’s Aragon GP, he finished runner-up to Marquez for his ninth podium from 12 rounds (19 from the last 23 Grands Prix) and retook control of the championship standings. There have been slips in Spain and Germany this year, both times after winning the Saturday sprint, but Martin has exercised more control, more constraint and more consistency, fulfilling one of his targets.
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