Martinator: MotoGP's remorseless, relentless metronome machine

Who else could come from eight metres back to out-brake the world champion and still hit the apex?

Bagnaia suffered from MotoGP’s sprint-race curse: you hit problems in the sprint and you get punished twice – no points on Saturday and no race simulation for Sunday. He definitely wasn’t at his best once his tyres were past their best.

Whatever the details of the year’s fifth GP, Liberty Media management must be knocking back the beta blockers by now. Ever since the company announced its (yet to be approved) purchase of MotoGP last month the racing has been stunning: COTA, Jerez and Le Mans, where the record 297,000 crowd made MotoGP sound more like a World Cup final.

In fact the racing has been better since two thirds of the way through last year’s championship. Why? Because MotoGP riders are geniuses.

When the tyre pressure rule was fully introduced halfway through 2023 there was real concern among riders and engineers that there would be less fighting and less overtaking because riders must run higher front pressures to avoid heavy penalties.

Higher air pressure changes a tyre’s profile, shrinking its contact patch and therefore reducing grip, placing riders on an even higher highwire, an even sharper knife edge, because locking the front tyre during braking and tucking the tyre into corners is a recipe for disaster.

But not for the world’s most talented motorcycle racers. They’ve taught themselves how to brake with the front tyre locked and skidding – from over 200mph! – and how to flick into corners with the tyre squirming and crabbing across the asphalt. A remarkable demonstration of the human mind and body performing at the very pinnacle of their performance.

Inevitably, stellar rookie Pedro Acosta, who has lit up MotoGP 2024 more than anyone, would have to be bloodied by that knife edge at some point. The 19-year-old has been a joy to watch since he arrived in MotoGP two months ago, dancing around on that highwire with the nonchalance befitting a teenage prodigy.

On Sunday he tripped off the wire for his first crash in a MotoGP race – he locked the front just a smidgen too much entering the downhill Turn 8, moments after setting the fastest lap of the race so far. No one would judge him harshly for the mistake.

At least Fabio Di Giannantonio – whom Acosta had just out-braked – was able to perfectly illustrate the fighter-pilot reactions of MotoGP riders by missing Acosta’s fallen KTM by millimetres.

 

While the entire grid watches endless replays of the Le Mans weekend – working out what they did right and what they did wrong – the most stressed man in MotoGP right now is probably Dall’Igna, who already knows that the price of building the best bike is having to choose between the super-talents queuing up outside your front door.

In fact Martin thinks Dall’Igna has already made up his mind but either doesn’t know the result or won’t tell.

“I think they have already chosen,” he said. “If they don’t want me, I will give my talent to other people.”

And that is the rub that’s been vexing Dall’Igna – if he doesn’t put Martin in the factory team he will lose him, most likely to Aprilia, which Dall’Igna won’t want. He might (might!) avoid that problem by giving Martin the job and giving Márquez a latest-spec Desmosedici and the same money (which is how he just about kept Martin happy last year).

Who knows? We will find out soon.