Martin shows maturity and consistency to claim maiden MotoGP crown

Five months after Jorge Martin was overlooked for the factory Ducati seat, the Spaniard will hop off its all-conquering Desmosedici bike as its best rider and move to Aprilia as MotoGP champion.

Having gone agonisingly close in 2023 only to lose the title to Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia in the final race, a fired up Martin, who said he had had the MotoGP crown stolen from him, made a promise: "Next year is mine."

Martin redeemed himself this year, using the disappointment to fuel his title challenge while showing maturity and consistency to deny Bagnaia a rare third straight title despite winning far fewer races than the Italian.

Bagnaia won 11 of this season's 20 grands prix to Martin's three, but it was the Spaniard's performances in the half-distance races on Saturdays that reinforced the Pramac Racing rider's reputation as MotoGP's true "Sprint King".

Martin finished on the podium in either the sprint or the race - if not both - in every round of the season, a staggering 32 podiums in 40 races to finally get his name etched on the dazzling MotoGP Champions Tower trophy.

"It's been a long journey. I think my career wasn't easy. For sure I had good opportunities in front of me, but I think I built them," Martin said.

"I worked quite hard. I make a lot of sacrifices at home every day to try to be a better man.

"Last season I had the opportunity but I think I wasn't prepared to win... But this year I felt it, I felt that it was my year."

As Bagnaia lost points from several crashes, he quickly found himself playing catch-up in the second half of the season.

An innocuous slide in the sprint in the penultimate round in Sepang as he hunted down his title rival saw his bike and the title all but slip away from Bagnaia.

Despite winning