Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1530649
P70 FEATURE I 2024 CYCLE NEWS RIDER OF THE YEAR: JORGE MARTIN the maneuver that led to the crash—the settings or perhaps something with the electronics. I never want to point the finger at a rider because he's always doing his best. But we saw that the rear was pushing the front and there was big understeer in that moment. "So, we worked on a few solutions and moved our base setting [accordingly]. The level these guys are riding at is so high. They're always on the lim - it. But it looks like this change made it a bit safer when he was entering in the corner. Last year, we were a bit more stable. It took us longer this year to find our base setting, but from Misano [to the end, we used] basi- cally the same setting." Once again, Martin was able to apply great perspec - tive at the following round in England. "The Sachsenring situ- ation was not that bad, just like now [at Silverstone] is not that good. The important thing is to keep improving, keep learning." It was an outlook that served him well in 2024. And one that should help as he embarks on an even bigger challenge in 2025: turning the tempera - mental Aprilia factory into title contenders. CN mistake. Take the fall from the lead in Jerez for instance—Mar- tin fought back with a double win in France. He shook off the disappointment of missing out on Ducati's factory team after Mugello by taking an important pair of seconds at Assen. And he waltzed to victory in Indone - sia a day after carelessly throw- ing a Sprint win away. The biggest response, how- ever, came after the German GP. Having scored pole, won the Sprint convincingly, Martin was two laps from completing a perfect weekend before a crash out of the lead saw the old doubts return. Yet Romagnoli believes a set- up change to correct Michelin's grippier 2024 rear tire adding pressure to the front was key for the rest of the campaign. "A big change [we made] was after the Sachsenring [crash]," he said. "Of course, I can't tell you what we did. But we analyzed that wouldn't stand in his way. "The key was Ducati," Martin acknowledged after sealing the title. "I'm so grateful to Clau - dio Domenicali (Ducati CEO) because nobody thought they [would] let me fight with all the tools. Even if they didn't want me for next year, they let me." HIS SPIRIT IS INHERENT From Martin's early moments in the World Championship, it was clear he had a penchant for delivering in moments of adversity. "We always knew Jorge had a huge talent," remembered Martin's per - sonal manager, Albert Valera. "His [fighting] spirit is some - thing inherent, that he had since he was a kid. We could see it in Moto3 when he broke his wrist [in the Czech Republic, 2018], came back in Austria [one week later] and did the podium. We could also see it in Portimao [in 2021] when he broke nine bones in his first year in MotoGP and then he won in Austria. All these situations made him stronger mentally." That experience was cru - cial as he bounced back from numerous disappointments this campaign. And it spoke of Martin's strength that he responded each time after a Friends, still, but only just. Bagnaia's (right) and Martin's (left) rivalry was high-wire sport at its finest but fought with a binding respect.