“A toxic rivalry draws more attention – if they provoke me, it could happen”
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Martin trails Bagnaia by only three points in the MotoGP standings, with six rounds remaining, after a run of form that has exploded the championship fight into life.He was questioned on the changing nature of his relationship with Bagnaia, and told La Vanguardia: “We were Moto3 teammates and we made a great bond, we were friends… well, we are friends, but you lose the relationship over the years. “Now we get along very well, but we don’t have a friendship. “There is a lot of respect and I admire it.”Asked if that influenced their racing, Martin said: “No, on the track you forget. We are both quite clean riders, we don’t come into contact, we have had fights in Moto3, and now in MotoGP, since we were little we have progressed together.”The most famous rivalries in MotoGP history – Valentino Rossi vs Jorge Lorenzo or Marc Marquez – belong to a bygone era now.Martin details how times have changed – but how today’s riders are also intense.
“It’s not that it’s lacking, but a toxic rivalry or one with more evil and hatred between the drivers draws more attention than a good-natured rivalry, because that generates fans and supporters for both,” he said. “We don’t have that now; now there is respect, a good relationship, we risk our lives every weekend and we don’t have the need to hate each other.“If they provoke me it could happen, but no one has done anything to me.“I have respect for everyone and a good friendship with Aleix Espargaro, but the rest are not my friends.“Sparks can fly over a touch with a certain rider, but it is not the level of hatred that Senna and Prost, or Lorenzo and Pedrosa, or Marc and Valentino had. Related Bastianini: Braking a key battleground among Ducati riders Marc Marquez: ‘Massive respect’ for Martin, Bagnaia“Before, two were fighting for the title, and now there are more rivals and more equality, and everything calms down.“I am more of a short fuse and at the slightest moment I get hot. “But I try to maintain manners because at the slightest thing you say, everyone on social media will jump on you. It is a critical moment.”
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