Jorge Martin has conceded he “understands” why Enea Bastianini made a last-lap pass on him in the Barcelona Grand Prix sprint, despite the implications of the move on his MotoGP title chances.
Having rapidly closed in on him in the final stages of the 12-lap half-distance race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bastianini sent his factory Ducati up the inside of Martin into Turn 5 to snatch second position away from him.
Pramac rider Martin was seen shaking his head in the moments that followed the move, as he lost two crucial points in the championship fight to the other works Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia, who went on to win the race - although he still goes into Sunday’s finale with a substantial 19-point lead in the standings.
Martin and Bastianini have history between them, with the pair most famously trading blows in another final lap battle in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in September.
On that occasion, Martin was sent wide at Turn 4 after being hit by Bastianini, who emerged unscathed to take his second victory of the season.
However, the Italian’s pass on Saturday in Barcelona was completely clean, with the two riders avoiding contact.
Speaking after the race, Martin acknowledged that Bastianini is engaged in his own battle for third in the championship with Gresini’s Marc Marquez though said: “I think it [the pass] was unexpected.
“I heard his bike from really far, that's why I was like 'no, f**k [when he came to overtake me]'. Because I felt he was maybe crashing or I don't know [if something was wrong].
“So then I pulled up, just being prepared for going to the outside of the track [to take the racing inside line], but he did an amazing job.
“He is doing his own battle with Marc, so I understand his battle.
“Tomorrow will be a nice race, I hope to enjoy the most of it and try to understand really good how to be a bit more competitive and try to do a better job.”
Starting from fourth on the grid, Martin made a rapid launch to challenge polesitter Bagnaia into Turn 1 but carried too much speed to hit the apex and had to concede position.
He then spent the first half of the race battling Bastianini, who had been passed by Bagnaia, and made what he thought was the decisive move for second into Turn 1 on lap 4.
Martin was able to pull away from Bastianini in the middle portion of the race, but the factory Ducati rider came back at him in the last two laps and steal the runner-up spot.
Summing up the race, Martin added: “It was a tense sprint.
“I started quite well, I was maybe optimistic in corner one but then I saw Enea passing so it was a bit of a mess.
“After that [when] I started to fight with him, we [both] lost a bit of time and then I lost the chance to go with Pecco.
“I think I had the potential to go a bit faster but I used a lot of tyre with Enea. But finally I think I did my best, trying to control the risk a bit.
“I think the podium today was a really really good job.”
