On a weekend that started with the bombshell announcement that Valentino Rossi will be retiring at the end of the 2021 season, it ended with Martin – a rookie of just six MotoGP starts – taking to the top step of the podium.
Martin missed four races in 2021 due to a wrist injury he suffered in a crash in Portugal and worked hard over the summer break to try to get back up to full fitness.
Snatching pole with a record lap, Martin fended off a race-long charge from Suzuki’s Mir – boosted by Suzuki’s new ride height device – to become the first rider to win a race for a satellite Ducati team.
Second and third for Mir and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo were immensely important results for their respective championship hopes, while talk of track safety emerged again after a terrifying fiery accident involving KTM wildcard Dani Pedrosa and Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori.
In the latest Tank Slappers podcast, Autosport’s Lewis Duncan and Motorsport.com’s Oriol Puigdemont discuss all the main talking points from the Styrian GP.
They also examine the situation surrounding Moto2 rookie sensation Raul Fernandez’s promotion to MotoGP in 2022 with KTM and Tech3 – a move the young Spaniard is not happy about.