The Pramac rider heads into the summer break as Bagnaia’s nearest threat, highli⛎ghted by a close victory over the factory star in the German MotoGP.

It was Martin’s first win since his rookie 2021 cam🥀paign whilꦅe two other Sunday podiums, plus a pair of Sprint race wins, have helped put him one point clear of VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi, although still 35 points from Bagnaia.

“For me, Martin has more speed, more potential. But for the moment Pecco is a better rider because his number says that he's the number one in the champio𓆏nship,” said Aprilia rider Espargaro.

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“𒈔For me, in terms of speed, Jorge faster. The first thing he had to do was 🐓to find the stability. He's finding it and from this point on for sure he will improve his speed.

“He's a really talented rider, really fast💎 and for me he's a ri🅠der who can fight for the title.”

But a satellite rider is yet𝓰 to win the MotoGP crown (Sete Gibernau, Marco Melandri and Franco Morbidelli have finished title runner-up) and 🥀Espargaro admits Martin’s hopes of making history could depend on how Ducati handles the situation.

“He has the same bike𒆙 - not the same team for sure as Pecco, but the same bike,” Espargaro said.

“But we have to see how Ducati manage this, if they want that a private satellite team can win the title... Let’s see how they do.⛎”