Jorge Martin revealed that he “had a lot of fears’ in 2024 after a difficult 2023 season that saw him lose the MotoGP title.
The current championship leader holds a ten-point advantage over Francesco Bagnaia in the standings.
While Bagnaia won the 2023 championship in the final round at Valencia in a hard-fought battle with Martin, the Spaniard opened up about his mental battles in pre-season ahead of the 2024 campaign.
“In February after the break, when we started again, I didn’t want to go back to the MotoGP bike,” Martin admitted. (Via Crash.net)
“I had a lot of fears. I didn’t know if I was able to be as fast as before.
“Then I jumped on the bike. I understood it was the same. I was fast again, I could fight again.
“My target now is to fight and to give 100%.”
Jorge Martin reveals his new approach after past mental battles
After losing the 2023 championship, Martin revealed that he “started to work on my mental side” ahead of the new season.
The Spaniard acknowledged that a change in approach was necessary and revealed the differences in how he now approaches race weekends.
“We improved a lot on the mental side. Last season was difficult, I couldn’t manage the pressure. I struggled a lot to handle it, I didn’t know how to do it. I would go to sleep in races.
“I said, okay I need help to approach the weekends and the pressure. I said okay, I need to do it.
“This year I started to work on my mental side, to have the tools to manage the situation.
“To understand how to approach the weekends, and how to approach after a bad result also.
“This was the key to this season. To be more present was important. I was thinking too much, last season. Trying to imagine what could happen. But this is not the way.
“Last season I was too obsessed with the result, trying to win, win, win. Maybe this is not the way that helps me. Now I try to focus more on myself, I try to learn from every situation.
“It’s not all about wins. If I can win, perfect. If not, it’s okay, I can live with that. It was the main lesson I got from last season.
“This season, I sleep perfectly! We did a good job!”
“There is pressure but I am okay with it,” he said.
“Pressure is a privilege. Not everyone has it. We are in front, battling for big things.
“When you are behind, it’s easier because you just have to push. When you are in front, it’s more difficult because you have to think more.
“My strategy this year – even if I am in front, think like I am behind. Push, push, push… Give 100% and don’t think about the rest, or what I cannot control.”
