Jorge Martin fights to excellent eleventh at Motegi

Today wasn’t the first time the action had been delayed at Motegi due to fog but eventually, five minutes after midday, a shortened Moto3 race was able to kick things off.

Race direction declared a wet thirteen-lap contest that saw Antonelli burst into an early lead, opening up a three-second gap after just three laps, eventually taking a clear win from Oliveira and Navarro.

The reduced ten-minute warm-up session was enough for Jorge Martín to show his prowess in the wet conditions, the MAPFRE Team Mahindra rider setting the fastest lap and then making up twelve positions in the race to take eleventh place from 23rd on the grid.

Teammate Pecco Bagnaia was also able to come home in the points despite struggling for feeling in the difficult conditions, with Juanfran Guevara managing to make it home despite almost crashing on the final few laps.

11th Jorge Martín:
“I usually feel comfortable in the wet but today from the start I didn’t have the feeling I wanted. We started from a long way back and there was a lot of pushing and shoving and that held me back. Also the rear was sliding a lot and I couldn’t get into the corners like I wanted. I lost some positions early on and then I also got held up by a couple of crashes in front of me. Luckily in the second half of the race I was able to get into my rhythm and eventually make up twelve positions, which isn’t bad but I hoped for more from this race. The dry line that formed helped us out but we need to learn from this race and continue improving.”

21st Juanfran Guevara:
“We knew it would be tough for us in the wet because we had no wet time all weekend. I struggled over the first few laps but on reflection I am quite satisfied because we have taken a step forward with my riding in the wet, which I needed to do. Two laps from the end I had a little moment and lost a few positions but it was a case of finishing the race however we could and we managed it.”

Source: Aspar Media