Massimo Rivola, who had brazenly criticized Jorge Martin after his mistake at Balaton Park, praised the brand new MotoGP championship chief for doing the fitting factor in Assen.
Martin took his first pole place for Aprilia on the Dutch Grand Prix, however lacked the tempo of the opposite RS-GPs within the race and completed fifth within the dash.
Martin then led the early phases of Sunday’s Grand Prix, however was caught up by trackhouse riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura.
Each drivers overtook Martin within the closing laps, however Rivola mentioned it was a smart resolution to accept third somewhat than take pointless dangers.
Jorge Martin takes the lead early on within the 2026 Assen MotoGP.
© Gold & Goose
“Very good”
“I believe Jorge set a brilliant lap in qualifying and received his first pole place with us,” Rivola mentioned.
“Given his bodily situation (after the accident at Balaton Park), he is undoubtedly not 100%, however I believe he had an important race.
“It was an ideal begin and he led the race for a lot of laps.
“He couldn’t have achieved extra.
“We all know that Eye may be very sturdy, particularly on the finish of the race, and[Jorge]was additionally very smart to accept third place. He did not take any additional dangers to withstand.”
“Properly then, Mr. Jorge, you probably did a very, actually good job.”
2026 Assen MotoGP, Jorge Martin is cornered by Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura.
© Gold & Goose
Teammate Marco Bezzecchi crashed on the second lap, an incident that Rivola deemed a “mistake”, which moved Martin into the lead of the MotoGP championship.
“I believe he received probably the most out of himself this race weekend,” Rivola added.
“On Friday, and even on Saturday morning, you possibly can inform he wasn’t as assured on the bike in comparison with the opposite three.
“So what did he do that weekend? He confirmed he’ll do the fitting factor when it comes time to ship.
“That is essential for the championship.”
After briefly main the standings after COTA, Martin heads to the Sachsenring, the ultimate race earlier than the summer time break, with a seven-point benefit over Bezzecchi.
