From the outside, MotoGP looks like pure speed. Bikes go by at speeds of 200 mph, drivers tend to corners that don’t feel like survival, and everything happens faster than the eye can process. It’s easy to assume that’s the job – just hold on, go as fast as you can, and figure it out as you go.
But when you talk to Jorge Martin, the illusion quickly disintegrates.
“It’s not that hard to control the bike,” says Martin. “Probably dealing with pressure is one of the hardest.”
Before this weekend Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain, Martin’s pressure will not be felt on race day. Not in highlights, not in slow replay. The real job is not just managing speed, but managing everything that comes with it. The pressure of other adventures, the unpredictability of conditions, the constant stream of decisions that must be made in real time while your heart rate pushes its limits.
“The mental side is even more difficult,” he says. “To handle the pressure, the other riders are really competitive and that’s the hardest part of being at a really high level.”
Speed is just the entry point. Control is a real skill set.
The spirit behind Elite MotoGP Racing
For Martin, the race doesn’t start when the lights go out. It starts early, when the questions start to build and the variables pile on top of each other.
“There are so many things that can happen during a race or even before a race,” he said. “You have a lot of doubts – for example, what tire will the other riders use, how will they start, if the bike is 100 percent, if I’m ready.”
These thoughts can easily take over if you let them. Martin’s approach is to reduce everything to what is important in the moment, even if that means actively removing distractions.
“Let’s control what I can control,” he says. “It’s riding a motorcycle and focusing on being the best I can be.”
It’s a mindset that sounds simple, but it takes discipline to maintain, especially for someone who is naturally prone to overthinking. This ability to turn off the sound does not remove the uncertainty. It just keeps it too much.
What is MotoGP training like? Inside the routine of Jorge Martin
MotoGP does not give the athletes the right environment to prepare. Conditions change, bikes evolve and no two races play the same. Because of this, Martin doesn’t train for one scenario—he teaches everyone to be prepared.
“There is no specific training to ride,” he says. “You have to study all areas … you have to be prepared for everything that can happen.”
This philosophy shapes how he approaches each session. Instead of focusing on one area, it builds its performance on different systems so that nothing is weakened.
“I do cycling, gym, motorcycling, mental training,” he says. “I have to practice every day.”
The physical demands are simply too much. During the race, Martin’s heart rate reaches a rate that most athletes only experience in short bursts. Martin’s heart rate can exceed 180 beats per minute, and to understand why he says that we do cardio for about 70 percent of sports.
At the same time, the body is under constant pressure from different directions. Acceleration relies on the lower body, braking loads the upper body, and the core must stabilize everything in between.
“You use the legs in acceleration, the arms and shoulders in braking, and the core is really important,” he said. “You have to learn a little bit of everything.”
This balance depends on how he structures his training. High intensity intervals, VO2 trainingand strength sessions all play a part in making sure he’s ready for whatever the competition demands.
Even outside of structured sessions, the movement is constant. Cycling isn’t just exercise for Martin, it’s part of how he feels every place he travels to and how he moves his body every day.
“I can’t imagine life without a bike or a gym,” he says.
Jorge Martin’s Recovery Secrets: Cold Soaks, Sleep, and Food
As Martin’s career progressed, recovery became just as important — if not more important — than training. What used to rely on nature now requires intention and structure.
“My house is like a clinic now,” she says. “It’s crazy.”
This change shows how demanding this sport is. Training can increase efficiency, but recovery is what allows him to maintain it over time.
“Recovery is more important to me than training,” he said.
His approach is comprehensive. It covers everything hyperbaric chambers and cold immersion food, sleep and a whole team focused on keeping your body functioning at a high level.
Immediately after the race, the priorities are simple but deliberate. There is no time for everything in detail, so focus on what will have an immediate impact.
“A cool ride and good food,” he says. “That’s the most important thing.”
Order plays an important role in keeping everything organized. With constant travel and unpredictable schedules, Martin relies on a fixed window before competition to create stability.
“For me, 40 minutes before I train, I have my own routine and I have to follow that routine,” he says. “I don’t really care about what I did before. I don’t care about what I do after.”
Inside that window, there’s a moment he doesn’t miss. Right before he gets on the bike, he takes time to recover mentally and physically. He only needs two minutes.
This moment helps him move from preparation to execution. It’s small, but it anchors everything that follows. There is also a release in his system. After the structure and discipline of race week, Martin allows himself to completely reset while eating.
“I destroy everything,” he says, laughing. “I eat everything I can.”
That flexibility is part of the plan. Without it, maintaining a level of control during training and racing would not be sustainable.
What separates the great riders from the champions in MotoGP
From the outside, MotoGP can look deceptively simple. A rider sits on a bicycle and goes fast. That perception is something Martin has heard throughout his career, and it’s something he knows doesn’t come close to being true.
“A lot of people have said to me, ‘You’re sitting on a bike, it’s not that hard,'” he says.
What they don’t see is the tension behind every second on the road. Physical performance is permanent, but mental conditioning is required to stay competitive and safe. Imagine being in a dead sprint in a crowd of other sprinters while trying to mentally process your grocery list.
At that level there is no difference between thinking and reacting. Every adjustment has to be made immediately, be it strategy, positioning or how the bike reacts in real time.
“You have to be really smart,” he says. “We have to work on the electronics, the front and the strategy.”
At the top level, talent alone is not enough to succeed. Martin has seen too many riders of similar ability fail when the sport takes a back seat. Anyone can win under the right circumstances. The difference is what happens after the mistakes.
“When you fall and you’re really hurt, to come back and win, that’s a big difference,” he says.
