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Jorge Martín, the rookie who drives like a veteran, wins the Styrian GP

2021-08-08T15:38:03.398Z


The Spanish Pramac Ducati rider achieves his first MotoGP victory ahead of Mir and Quartararo in a bumpy race with Márquez eighth


When everyone on the grid looked at the sky, threatening, dark gray, in the head of Jorge Martín, located on

pole

after setting the best time on Saturday, the words of Fonsi Nieto, former driver and team manager, could well be resonating. Pramac Racing.

"I have told him to look left and right and enjoy what he has achieved after all he has suffered," he conceded, who also broke down, suffered, rode and won.

As Martín won this Sunday at the Spielberg circuit after a terrible accident at the start of the championship.

A MotoGP debut on a Ducati satellite, Martín, who was Moto3 champion in 2018, sealed his first triumph in the premier class with a career worthy of a veteran. From the top position of the grid - thanks to a stratospheric lap the day before - he tried to defend himself in the first lap as best he could against the harassment of Miller, riding an official Ducati, he gave up a position and shortly after he also saw how he Mir advanced. But he was not daunted. He signed the fastest lap in just three laps. He regained the lead the next lap. And he hit the gas lever. He took the lead and Joan Mir, the champion, with his tongue out until the end of the race.

There was no way to reach him. Years ago the pilots realized how difficult it is to beat a Ducati on this Austrian circuit, with straight lines and tight angles, with strong accelerations. Mir has known for months that his Suzuki is no longer the most envied bike on the grid. The new

holeshot

device helps, but does not work miracles

, which allows the bike's center of gravity to be lowered and the rear axle height controlled for better traction. The Suzuki is still a sweet and friendly machine, but it lacks

punch

, especially in a season when all the factories kicked in and all the drivers seem capable of pulling off the hook one day. “I need a few tenths to be able to fight someone like Martín; He has had a perfect race, ”admitted Mir.

Jorge Martín and Joan Mir, first and second in the Styrian GP.Gerhard Schiel / AP

Martín has learned quickly, surprising his rivals by how he is capable of managing races, by how well he has understood tire performance in just a few races; That was a joy after all the pain suffered in recent months. His fall in the Portuguese Algarve in mid-April left him bedridden in the hospital with various fractures to his hand and another to his foot, with a head injury and multiple injuries. He missed three grand prizes. He returned to Montmeló, at the beginning of June, and paraphrased the champion Marc Márquez, who has repeated several times in the last year that "there are many races, but we only have one body." After that, Jorge had to retire at Assen, unable to bear the physical demands of the race with that battered body.The month and a half of vacation has given him to come back stronger. And wiser. At 23 years old.

“Injuries have made me learn a lot, to manage risks and physicality.

As I have done here, although I have made a thousand mistakes in the end because I no longer had the strength left, ”he confessed, although the mistakes were practically negligible.

And so the chronos showed it.

The Madrilenian achieved an advantage of almost two seconds that allowed him to finish the test somewhat more calmly.

He no longer felt Mir's breath on his neck.

He had done everything right to score his first MotoGP win.

More information

  • The career of Valentino Rossi, in pictures

  • The mythical Valentino Rossi retires at the end of the season: "I will be a pilot for my whole life"

After Mir, who crossed the finish line, a second and a half behind the Spaniard, the World Cup leader, Fabio Quartararo, came third, who was unable to keep up with the first two, but continues without losing the opportunity to add to defend that first position of the general. Not even in the circuits that choke the Yamaha the most does the Frenchman give his arm to twist, aggressive at the start of the race, aware that he could not miss the train.

An accident three laps after starting and that forced the race to be suspended and the start to be re-launched ended up dismantling the plans of some, such as Bagnaia, for example, who aspired to victory and finished 11th after changing tires.

The same as Márquez, who also changed and who also finished worse than expected, eighth –after some touches, a start from the track and a lot of difficulty coming back–, after a promising start before Savadori –the malleolus fractured. on the right foot - and Pedrosa, back at a grand prix as a KTM test rider - he started again and finished 10th - collided at turn three and left their bikes burning on the asphalt.

In the end, it didn't rain, by the way.

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Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2021-08-08

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