This year, Jorge Martín completed his third season in MotoGP and, for the first time, finished as runner-up only behind Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). With the stability of being in Pramac for three consecutive years and the advantage of having a current Ducati Desmosedici GP23 at his disposal, the Spaniard did not waste the opportunity to demonstrate his worth.
Interestingly, the season did not start particularly well for Martín, with an early retirement in the main race of the Portuguese GP. After being involved in a collision with Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) at the start, he suffered damage to the right footrest, which had a considerable impact on his performance before crashing six laps from the end.
The fifth place in Argentina was more in line with the potential of #89, who was delayed by a new fall in the main race of the GP of the Americas. It was right on the third corner, following an error after gaining five places in the first two corners, which relegated him to 11th in the championship: the worst position he held all year, before starting to recover. One of Martín’s best periods of the season began with a fourth place in the Spanish GP, followed by three consecutive podiums in a sequence that ended with his first victory in the main race: it was in the German GP. Reacting to this victory, the Spanish rider said in a press conference: ‘It was fantastic; winning this race was very emotional. Last season I had a lot of difficulties being competitive, it was very frustrating, and finally recovering and being strong almost everywhere, and being on the podium many times… I was missing the Sunday victory and finally it came‘.The following rounds were not particularly favorable to Martín, who put himself in the title fight route from the Catalan GP. Demolisher in the Sprint races, with four consecutive wins on Saturdays between San Marino and Indonesia, he also showed strength in main races with four podiums – two of them corresponding to victories. One of them was in the Japanese GP, which the Pramac man recently admitted was the round in which he realized that the title was possible: ‘I went to Japan and won both races, so I think Japan was maybe the moment when I said we could win the championship,’ he told Motorsport.com.
After the Sprint race of the Indonesian GP, Martín briefly led the championship, but with the retirement in the main race, he lost the position and never recovered it. A sudden drop in form at the Qatar GP led the rider to criticize the Michelin tires, leaving him further away from being able to be champion. At the time, he stated: ‘You can guess what happened for yourselves and from that point on I tried to manage it but I felt like I was falling with every corner due to the rear. It’s a shame that a championship like this, after a great season, working hard, feel like it was stolen from me because I believe I could have gotten there before this race and now it’s very difficult’.
Despite getting closer to Bagnaia until the end of the year, staying in the fight until the last race, #89 had to settle for second place in the final championship.
The season ended in a inglorious and painful way for Martín, with the retirement due to the mistake – the second mistake, it must be said – in the main race of the Valencia GP. All in all, he finished as vice-champion, 39 points behind the champion, helping Pramac to become team champions in an unprecedented achievement for a satellite team.
A season in which Martín confirmed himself as a potential champion, making history and promising to be a serious contender again in 2024. To achieve this, he will need to gain more consistency in the long distance, but he has already shown that he is capable of winning in any scenario, as evidenced by his double victories in Germany, San Marino, Japan, and Thailand.
2023 Season of Jorge Martín:
Portuguese GP: 2nd Sprint/Retirement GP – 9th in the championship
Argentinian GP: 8th Sprint/5th GP – 7th in the championship
Americas GP: 3rd Sprint/Retirement GP – 11th in the championship
Spanish GP: 4th Sprint/4th GP – 7th in the championship
French GP: 1st Sprint/2nd GP – 4th in the championship
Italian GP: 3rd Sprint/2nd GP – 3rd in the championship
German GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 2nd in the championship
Dutch GP: 6th Sprint/5th GP – 2nd in the championship
British GP: 6th Sprint/6th GP – 2nd in the championship
Austrian GP: 3rd Sprint/7th GP – 2nd in the championship
Catalan GP: 5th Sprint/3rd GP – 2nd in the championship
San Marino GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 2nd in the championship
Indian GP: 1st Sprint/2nd GP – 2nd in the championship
Japanese GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 2nd in the championship
Indonesian GP: 1st Sprint/Retirement GP – 2nd in the championship
Australian GP: 5th GP (no Sprint race) – 2nd in the championship
Thai GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 2nd in the championship
Malaysian GP: 2nd Sprint/4th GP – 2nd in the championship
Qatari GP: 1st Sprint/10th GP – 2nd in the championship
Valencia GP: 1st Sprint/Retirement GP – 2nd in the championship
