Rookie Jorge Martin made history last season as the first satellite Ducati rider to win a MotoGP race.
On the way, the young Spaniard also became known for one of the most extreme driving styles in the premier class, which hangs far from his Pramac Ducati at angles of over 60 degrees.
The official MotoGP lean record is 70 degrees by Marc Marquez, but that was while he was saving a front-end crash at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
With Martin, the extreme lean angle where his shoulder sometimes slides over the asphalt is a conscious part of his technique.
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At 1.68 m, Martin is 8 cm shorter than Ducati’s runner-up Francesco Bagnaia and 5 cm shorter than Bagnaia’s works team colleague Jack Miller. Focus inwards.
The result: Martin, like Miller, now has to be careful that his Ducati fairing scrapes the asphalt and lifts the tires off the ground.
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“I’ve been taking off the disguise since Austria, but so has Jack [Miller] is a lot. I fell because of it, so we have to be careful and sometimes change the setup, “said Martin.
Austria was the scene of Martin’s memorable debut win, which kept reigning champion Joan Mir and future champion Fabio Quartararo the only Ducati in the top five.
It was a remarkable comeback for the former Moto3 champion and Moto2 race winner, who announced his arrival in MotoGP with a spectacular 14th to 4th rocket launch in his very first premier class race in Qatar.
Pole position and a podium followed the following week, but then there was a serious accident during practice at Portimao that left him with multiple breaks and three more events.
The summer break gave Martin time to recover and he took three more podium places, including the Austrian victory when he improved the championship standings back to ninth place and secured the crown of rookie of the year.
Martin’s raw qualifying speed was even more impressive, taking three pole positions and qualifying outside the top five only once in the last nine laps.
“It was a nice season with many ups and downs,” reflected Martin. “We started well and then after the injury it was quite difficult to come back strong. But we made it anyway.
“I’m happy with the performance, four poles, four podiums, one win. I feel super strong, the last two races were super good too, Portimao was close to the podium and Valencia almost won.
“Since Austria I felt competitive on all tracks,” added Martin. “So I think we’re ready to make good things happen [in 2022].
“I don’t know for the championship, but I think it will be a nice goal to fight for the top 5 at the end of the year. I will definitely try to always fight for the win or the podium.”
To achieve this, Martin shows exactly where he is losing time on Bagnaia.
“Compared to Pecco at Valencia he can turn better in corners 4 and 5. That is definitely the style. I’m better in the left corners. So I have to improve in the right corners and that will be a big step for me ,” he explained.
While Martin lacked strength after his injury, he was instantly quick and therefore has no concerns about not riding a MotoGP motorcycle during the two-month winter break before the 2022 Sepang test.
“Before Montmelo, I was injured from the bike for two months and in FP1 I was less than a second off the front,” he said. “Ultimately, I think it won’t be difficult and it will be the same for everyone. I will train at the Panigale until January and be safe.”
If Martin already has access to the latest Desmosedisci machines at Pramac, he could only reach one place higher in the Ducati hierarchy for 2023, should he build on his victorious rookie season; the factory team.
This will not be an easy task given the abundant competition for the coveted official Desmosedici seats, not least from Bagnaia and Miller. But Martin’s rookie season heroics will also have caught the eye of other works teams, who could certainly step in with an attractive offer …