HEROIC MARTIN TAKES PODIUM AND STAYS IN TITLE FIGHT
The #AustrianGP draws to a close with a heroic performance of Jorge Martin. In a few days’ time, the Spaniard went from being unsure on whether to travel to Spielberg or not to actually getting on the podium at the end of a race that he even tried to win.
The #88 of Team Del Conca Gresini Moto3put together a super performance after coming very close to what would have been an incredible pole position. The race distance, however, represented a much-bigger challenge for the injured 20-year-old from Madrid. But Martin stayed extremely focused for the whole 22 laps of the race and had to fend off the attacks coming from Masia and Arenas – but in the meantime he also tried to take the lead from Bezzecchi.
Martin leaves Spielberg with 16, extremely important points; he is still second in the standings, now with a 12-point gap from the top and eight races left in the season.
Fabio Di Giannantonio’sperformance, on the other hand, was nowhere near what he showed a week ago in Brno. After a challenging qualifying session, the Italian had a difficult race and also a coming together with McPhee, which relegated him in 11thplace. The Italian is still third in the title race, although with a 37-point gap from the leader.
3rd– JORGE MARTIN #88
“I’m over the moon after what has been an extremely difficult week. To be on the podium after eight days from surgery was a dream. I would have loved to win the race – I think it was even without realistic reach – but I was losing a lot to Bezzecchi on the straight. I give my all to stay with him and I didn’t give up until the end: ironically enough, I was making a lot more ground in the left-handed turns, where I was struggling more. We took 16 very important points and now the goal is to recover fully for Silverstone.”
11th– FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #21
“I got a good start and in the first ten laps I managed to recover a good number of positions. When I was running in fifth place and had clear track ahead, it was almost impossible to make up ground due to the lack of slipstream. We are still struggling on the straight, where I lost everything I gained in the mixed sections. The coming together with McPhee at the last turn took away some more points which would have been good. In any case, we need to keep our head down and stay focused on Silverstone.”
