Jorge Martín's new momentum, one year after hitting rock bottom

Jorge Martín is no longer the same man he was a year ago. There was obviously a world title with Pramac, a blocked future at Ducati and a transfer to Aprilia, but above all the Spaniard found a serenity from which he was far before starting the 2024 season.

To understand this development, we must go back to the failure of the previous year. In 2023, Martín failed to deny Pecco Bagnaia a second consecutive title and subsequently doubted his ability to ever reach the top. The doubt was such that he hesitated to continue his career.

“When I arrived at the tests, I wasn’t motivated”Martín confided to the official MotoGP website just after his world title. “I was fast but I had no motivation. I was just doing my job. They were paying me so I was doing my job and I was like, 'OK, I'll go shopping, I'll take the money and maybe I'll stop. -to be at the end of the season'. Finding that motivation, not just looking at the end result but enjoying the process, that was the key.”

Helped by a psychologist, Martín slowly regained pleasure and motivation. The about-face by Ducati, which promised him a promotion to the official team before giving place to Marc Márquez, has in no way undermined this renewed confidence. The outcome is in fact known: Martín won the title and it is with Aprilia that he will wear the #1 this year, which plunges him into a context “very different”.

“He’s exactly one year old, it was one of the worst times of my life actually, so I’m happy because I feel good”confided Martín during the presentation of the Aprilia RS-GP25. “The last two years, I wasn't motivated to race. I was racing and training because I was very disciplined. I was progressing through that discipline, because I had done a lot of sacrifices to do my job Now I feel very motivated and I maintain this discipline.

After winning the title last year, Martín doubted his ability to maintain this momentum, but the challenge he is embarking on with Aprilia has allowed him to maintain the same fervor: “I was a little afraid that after I won it would be over and I would just want to have fun, but that's not the case. I hope this is the start of something big.”

“I think I'm not training more, but better than ever in my life. I do things very well, I understand why I do certain things so I'm very happy. I feel good, I feel that the experience helps me and it keeps me very motivated I can't wait for it to start.”

Jorge Martín regularly talks about the importance of his work with his psychologist, sports specialist Xero Gasol, in this process. Long ignored, the issue of mental health is increasingly regularly raised by professional athletes and Martín does not hide the fact that this aspect has become an essential part not only of his preparation, but also of his life.

“Since I started [faire appel à un psychologue]it has continued until today and I will always work on the mental aspect, even after my retirement. I think that's the key in life. I trained a lot, tried new things. I’m going to keep a lot of it to myself because I don’t want to give any secrets to my rivals!”

“But it's very important to know how to approach this new project because I think the Jorge of a year ago would have said 'I want to win again to prove to people that I'm the best' but that's not not the case. I have my personal challenge to make this project win. I think it's a very good project. Nobody has done it so far. [un titre] with Aprilia in MotoGP, it motivates me a lot. I'm going to try, I'm very determined.”

“As I said before, I can't guarantee any result because it's totally impossible. I can't guarantee that I will win, that I will be in the top 3, I don't know. But I can guarantee my 100% determination, many sacrifices to win this project.”

Fully focused on his mission, Jorge Martín assures that he does not worry about the eyes on him. When he was asked about the weight of being the reigning champion, with a new status and perhaps a target on his back, he brushed it off, not seeing himself as the most scrutinized in MotoGP.

“I don't care. The only thing that matters is that I achieved my goal. I don't care if I'm number one in people's eyes. For me, it's very important to focus on what I can control, which is being fast, training every day, trying to be a better driver every day. That's my main goal. If people like me, that's fine. They don't like me, that's okay too. control it so they can think whatever they want.”

“What I want is to build a great project, a great career that I will be proud of when I retire. That's what I want. Now I have #1 so I'm going to try to assume this responsibility because it's not that simple after struggling for so many years But I don't feel like I'm the main actor. [du championnat]. Maybe in the future or next year you can ask me that question again.”