Jorge Martin says working on his mental strength is aiding his MotoGP world title fight after suffering “a nightmare” during last year’s world championship tussle over the flyaway rounds.
The Pramac Ducati rider’s MotoGP standings lead may have been trimmed by three points to 21 points over the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend by Francesco Bagnaia, but Martin felt his victory in the main race gave him the perfect response to crashing out of the Saturday sprint race.
With Marc Marquez (mechanical) and Enea Bastianini (crash) both failing to finish the Indonesia GP, it has set up a likely repeat of the 2023 title showdown between Martin and Bagnaia over the final five rounds.
In last year’s championship tussle the Italian prevailed with seven consecutive podiums, highlighted by two wins, while the Spaniard failed to finish twice and missed out on the podium in three grands prix over the same period.
After reflecting on losing the title during the final rounds 12 months ago, the 26-year-old has opened up on his preparation for the flyaway races, having taken up meditation to improve his focus and mental fortitude.
Speaking during the Japanese GP pre-event press conference, Martin says how he has utilised the benefits and feels mentally better prepared.
“I sleep much better now, last season was really difficult to manage for me,” Martin said. “Not so much here in Japan, but more in Thailand and Malaysia was really tough and then of course Valencia.
“I feel I have improved a lot in terms of the mental side and I worked a lot over the season. I feel I have done an amazing step so I am enjoying it now. I enjoy to go out on track and I enjoy to ride.
“Last season it was the opposite, it was like a bad dream, a nightmare, really a nightmare.
“Even if I was winning I didn’t enjoy it at all. Now I am enjoying it so now I am super happy and I am proud to be here so it is really, really good.”
At last year’s Motegi round Martin did the sprint and grand prix double, albeit with the Sunday race red-flagged at the halfway stage due to heavy rain and dangerous conditions.
Bagnaia, who finished third in the sprint and second in the grand prix last year, feels three of the five remaining circuits are where he can find an advantage over Martin as he aims to overturn the points deficit.
“I think this [Motegi] track is good for us, and I think Thailand and Malaysia are good for us, so we have three tracks where we are very strong,” Bagnaia said. “We have Australia where Jorge is very strong.
“I think the fight could be [down] to a similar performance in Thailand and Valencia.
“We are in a situation where we need to be better than him, he can control a little bit more.”
