I’ve always liked Austin.

A tough track, technical, full of bumps and direction changes that never give you a moment’s rest. It’s not a track where you can hide — either you’re there or you’re not. And for years I couldn’t finish the way I wanted.

Friday was decent — fourth in pre-qualifying, good pace, but on the soft the bike was still nervous and in time attack I was struggling to keep it together. Nothing dramatic, but there was still something to find.

Saturday started well and ended badly. P2 in qualifying, then the Sprint. Bad start but I’d managed to recover positions with some good overtakes. I was second, got carried away and fell. My mistake.

I was pretty down after. Not physically — thankfully. But when you make a mistake like that, in a race you were controlling, it stings. The team was right there with me, and that means a lot.

Sunday is a different day, though.

Good warm-up. Starting from fourth. On lap one I attacked Acosta at Turn 11, there was contact on the exit — the wind was pushing hard, I saw him go wide, I tried to get through and we touched. I broke something on the rear of the bike, I didn’t know it at the time, but it was still running. Luckily.

From that moment on: head down and push.

Every lap, the same rhythm. Manage when it was time to manage, attack when it was time to attack. Jorge closed in at the end, I felt him, but I had something left and pulled away a bit.

Chequered flag. First. With Martin second, another Aprilia one-two.

When they told me about the record — 121 consecutive laps in the lead, more than Lorenzo — I didn’t even know what to say. I wasn’t thinking about it. I never think about those things when I’m racing. I think about the next corner.

I’d been dreaming for a long time of a proper race here in Austin. It took a while, but it finally came.

Now a long break — Qatar has been postponed. We restart in Jerez.

Time to recharge.