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On the eve of the weekend, Jorge Martín looked at the standings with suspicion: yes, he was first, but without really understanding how he had managed to stay there after weeks where the feeling with the bike had come and gone. Forty-eight hours later, Silverstone gave him a few more answers: pole with a track record, Sprint led from the first to the last lap, and some points added to his Championship lead. And all this in a race played on the very thin line of tyre strategy. Martín already knew the soft would collapse and began conserving it practically from the first lap, but when after four laps, the rear started to give way, the Spaniard thought the others would catch him. However, he then looked at the gap and realized that everyone else was in worse shape than he was. Anyway, the result only counts up to a point. The real news is that Martín says he's finally come out of the "hole" into which he had fallen with his Aprilia since Barcelona. This was what he needed to make his leadership feel more tangible. Even though he truly wants to confirm this at Aragón. Because a Sprint can be won with force; a championship, as he reminds us, is a marathon. “It was nice to rediscover fantastic sensations this weekend, but for me, this was the most important thing, more than the result,” the Madrid native began to say. “Rediscovering the feeling, rediscovering the speed. We've managed to pull ourselves a bit out of the hole we were in, and this surely gives us a lot of motivation. We have full confidence in ourselves. I have full confidence in my team and myself, and I knew it was just a matter of time before getting out of that situation." Several times during this period, you said you didn't really feel like the leader of this Championship. Does a result like this change your mind? “I said I didn’t feel like a leader because I wasn't comfortable with the bike, but I know that when things work, this is the outcome. It is the consequence, as I always say, of doing things well. But it’s not that we’ve won at Silverstone now, and everything is all right. We will have to confirm ourselves in the upcoming races. For sure we have a great opportunity tomorrow as well.” It was a race marked by tyre wear. Were you simply the best at managing them, or is Aprilia particularly strong there? “I started managing right from the first lap, even though I was still gaining ground. Then, after four laps, when I started having problems, I thought they would catch up with me. Instead, I saw that even though I was really in big trouble, I was still able to maintain or even increase the gap. At that point, I thought, 'Okay, then they are in worse shape than me.' So from that perspective, I think I did a really great job. Tomorrow will be another story with the medium. I believe it will be slower, more consistent, and perhaps even easier to manage compared to today with the soft." How do you concretely preserve the tyre? What do you do on the bike? “I don't open the throttle 100%. I try to wait a bit, to wait for the grip to arrive before opening up fully”. But did you already realize during the practice sessions how much the tyre degradation would affect? “Yes. I was already quite worried before the race. Yesterday, in the practice sessions, after four laps, I saw the tyre collapsing. I had to return to the pits because I said, ‘I can't test anything this way.’ And today, that's exactly what happened. I thought they would catch up with me, but even when I was in a very complicated situation, I managed to let the tyre cool down a bit. Let's see if tomorrow I can manage it in the same way." You said you have returned to the bike configuration you used in the first part of the season.  “Yes, the bike is the same as we had at Le Mans. Now we clearly have some new parts, especially in terms of aerodynamics, which can also be seen, but the basic setup is the same as in France." Yesterday you said you were very happy with the balance of the bike. Is it a fundamental aspect also for preserving the tyres? “Yes, absolutely. When the bike is balanced, when the front and rear work well together, you don't have to push too hard on the front to make it turn or make it turn using the rear. So everything works quite well. There's not much more to add: the bike is running really, really well. I don’t have to ride beyond the bike's limits, and everything comes out quite naturally.” Today, though, you've made a step forward compared to yesterday. What have you found that allowed you to be faster? “Yesterday I arrived here, and it was my first time at Silverstone with the Aprilia. Even though I was already fast, in terms of electronics, I was quite lost. We had plenty of things to work on, and I believe that was the key point, both for managing the tyre better and for being so fast today." Do you think you can repeat the same performance in the GP? “It can be repeated, but you need to work on it. I believe that tomorrow, with the medium, especially in terms of management, will be completely different. I think it will all be slower, more constant, and perhaps even easier to manage compared to today with the soft. There are other riders who are very competitive, but I think tomorrow we can make another small step forward.” Going back to what you said about feeling like a leader: regardless of how tomorrow goes, do you think you have to wait a little longer before you can say, “Okay, now I can really fight for the title?” “I see there are races where I do very well and others where I don't. This is one where I'm doing well. The real confirmation will have to come when we go to Aragón. There we'll see if this package really works on that track too. That will be a bit of a test to understand if we can carry this base to the end of the year. But, whatever happens tomorrow, this weekend has been positive because I improved my sensations and the package. So, whatever happens, I'm happy.” We know you're using a new chassis. So, even though you'll be leaving this team next year, you're still at the top of the standings, and Aprilia isn't holding back with you. Do you consider that a good signal? “I think it's quite obvious. As long as this contract lasts, until the end of the year, I'll give my all for Aprilia, and I know Aprilia will give their all for me. They want to win just as much as I want to win. To achieve that, we both need to give 100%, and that's what's happening. I hope it continues like this until the end.” In terms of performance, what have the latest developments given you? “A tenth, maybe two-tenths. In the end, those are what help you win races.” Today you gained 11 points on Márquez. Tomorrow he will no longer be leaving Silverstone as the leader.  “Here I took 11 points from him. In Germany, he gained 20 on me... In the end, this championship is a marathon. You have to try to be as good as possible, but above all, as consistent as possible. What happens in a single race doesn't define a championship.” You made a great start in the Sprint. But does the new grid format, with more distance between rows, help in maintaining positions from the start? “I don't know. I started in front, but probably that extra distance helped me maintain the first position, because I actually didn’t start that well. Indeed, as soon as I took off, I thought to myself, 'Okay, I didn't start perfectly, but I'm sure I'll arrive at the first corner in front,'” concluded the championship leader.