Both have had a tough time physically in recent months, and the summer holidays have become for all the title contenders a kind of additional preseason ahead of the battle that started this Saturday in Silverstone. Madrid’s Jorge Martín showed with a stunning ‘pole’ like in his best days and an uncontested victory in the British GP sprint that the break has done him wonders. Although he was incredulous about being the championship leader upon his arrival in England, his outstanding performance made it clear why he is in the mix with an Aprilia capable of placing its three main title contenders on the podium, second Ai Ogura and third Marco Bezzecchi, the same order that now appears in the world championship standings.
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Martín had started the season cautiously after his black 2025 full of bone fractures and surgeries, and for that reason he said it was the mistakes of others and his rivals that had allowed him to lead the championship during the tanning period. The margin at the top, however, remains narrow. He is 17 points ahead of Ogura, the stoic Japanese from the Trackhouse team, and 27 ahead of his garage mate, very commendable after recovering this July from a left clavicle fracture suffered at the German GP.
“I have worked hard this summer, and finally the reward has come. It has been a very positive day and I am very happy. I want to congratulate both Aprilia and Marco, as achieving this podium after all he has suffered lately is not easy,” agreed the main protagonist of the world championship restart. To recharge, tone his body, and clear his mind, Martín completed a cycling challenge with several friends the week before returning to work: 876 kilometers in six days, 31 hours of activity, and 18,500 meters of accumulated positive elevation on the bike to complete the journey between Roses, in Catalonia, and Donostia, in the Basque Country. “The challenge was worth it, and I feel good physically, healthy and strong, so fingers crossed. That said, next week I will take a vacation, which I deserve and it’s time not to work on my body for a few days,” emphasized the winner, 2024 champion with Ducati.
A good start and an uncontestable pace were enough for number 89 to come out on top after setting the track record (1.56.160) in a high-voltage qualifying session following an intense duel with the other title contenders and Raúl Fernández, who was second on the grid and ended up crashing in the short race. The first lap of the parade lap showed that the second part of the championship will be more entertaining than ever.
Right from the start, the five title contenders, now separated by 31 points when 37 are distributed each weekend, lined up in a train at the front of the race. Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez made contact, and the defending champion managed to overtake the Italian while his soft rear tire resisted excessive abrasion under the umpteenth heatwave of the summer in the English countryside.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, the other Ducati in the race, also showed his teeth in the early stages of the short race, yet all the Desmosedici suffered unprecedented wear that left them struggling and exposed in the final stretch of the race. From the halfway point, all fell off except Alex Márquez, who managed his tire better than his brand colleagues and finished fourth after starting seventh. The red tent will carefully study the Gresini rider’s data this afternoon to find the magic formula for Sunday’s race (2:00 PM, DAZN).
The reigning champion, now fourth in the standings 29 points behind Martín, had more than one scare on a more nervous Desmosedici GP than usual, but he managed to avoid crashing and potential damage to his bruised right shoulder in a battle he also expects to be long and very interesting given the great form of the Aprilias. Number 93, finally, scraped a point at the finish line after resisting the challenge of one of his protégés, Brazilian Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda), in a fight for ninth place decided by 27 thousandths at the checkered flag. In qualifying, he could only be sixth behind the other title contenders.
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