“It’s just a matter of time”

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin believes it is a matter of time before he battles for victories again, following his feisty ride to fourth place in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The race at Balaton Park was only the third grand prix since Martin returned from long-term injury at the Czech Grand Prix in July. The result, which the Spaniard achieved from 16th on the grid, was a clear step up from the seventh place he scored on his comeback at Brno.

“Today I feel like I am back,” said the 27-year-old, who was still uncertain how his recovering body would handle the twists and turns of a full race distance at Balaton Park. “I could [run] a strong pace for 26 laps. That is not easy on a tricky track.

“Today I had no expectations and I was fourth, close to the podium. Maybe next race I am on the podium. Or [fighting] for the victory, I don’t know. I will give 100%. But I don’t want to do more than what I can.

“Today I could have gone for the podium and crashed. So I prefer to finish fourth and keep building a solid base for the future.

“For sure I still need time with the bike. [But] I am the same ‘Martinator’ as last year. The bike is much better than last year. So it’s just a matter of time [before] we put everything together and we can fight for victories.”

Although Martin’s absence was overshadowed by a highly public contractual dispute with Aprilia, he now believes the satisfaction of winning with the Italian squad would be special.

“I mean, last year I had the hunger for winning the title and that was great. But now, thinking a bit about my story, the challenge to bring Aprilia to winning gives me much more motivation and joy than just winning races. So the day I win with Aprilia will be fantastic. It will be super good.

“The team is working incredibly. I’m really surprised about the Aprilia and how they are working, the project and everything. So we are both [working] in the same direction.”

Martin’s ride to the front went a long way towards disproving the notion that overtaking would be impossible at Balaton Park – of which he has become a great fan.

“I love it. It’s fantastic. I mean, people are arguing because they say we cannot overtake. I overtook 12 riders!”