MotoGP: 'Ready for all that comes' - Jorge Martin celebrates win in wet conditions at Japanese GP, Pecco Bagnaia 'happy'

Jorge Martin says he feels ready for "all that comes" for the rest of the season as a battle royale for the title looms with Pecco Bagnaia.

Martin cut Bagnaia’s lead in the standings to just three points at the Japanese GP, after a downpour forced riders onto wets in a bike swap from their initial selection of slicks.

Two red flags saw the action curtailed, with the second giving the Spaniard the victory.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the win, Martin said: "It was complicated, it was difficult to maintain the calm at that point but it was the same for everybody.

"It was a bit risky on the first lap because we were on the slicks, it started to rain quite a lot. I was in first position and normally the first is the one who crashes, so at that point in turn 11 I let [Jack] Miller and Pecco [Bagnaia] overtake me so I was able to see what they were doing and when they stopped I said, ‘okay, it’s time to flag'.

"I changed my bike and it was a good change of bike, and I was the first one of the wet guys but I almost crashed in corner three, so I was six or seven but I was able to recover all those positions, to make that gap with Pecco was not easy but I was able to do it.

"My first victory in wet, so I’m super happy. I feel competitive in all the conditions and the team did an amazing job and were super good."

He continued: "I’m happy that finally I found this feeling with my bike to help me to be competitive in all conditions. I’m ready for whatever comes.

"I feel confidence, I feel strong. For the rest of the season, there’s not a track where I struggle. Let's go for a good result, to be consistent, to finish the races. Let’s see what it brings us."

Bagnaia himself was slightly disappointed to give up some points to the Spanish winner, but nonetheless understood why the race was curtailed in the circumstances.

He said: “I’m happy because it’s the first time in the wet that I’m doing the podium, so I’m very happy, and unluckily the situation like this was too risky to race, the rain behind was too heavy.

“Unluckily - we had the possibility to win - but in any case happy with the position, Jorge gained some more points but I’m very happy.”

Marc Marquez, third on the podium, enjoyed the novelty of some success in such conditions.

“I enjoyed it, it’s true that in the beginning of the race I was very calm, just tried to understand the tyres,” he explained.

“I knew the race was very long and in the beginning it was very dry and if you push the tyres when the rains arrive you will lose a lot of time. So I was very calm and when I saw water arrive on the track I started to attack and I was increasing the attack step by step.

“Race direction did a very good job because they stopped the race on the correct time. There was too much rain on the track and there was not enough light.

"Even for me it was OK to restart the race because there was a big chance for victory, but they did a perfect job, so congrats to the guys in front of me.”

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.