Marc Marquez outlines what was unexpected about Jorge Martin’s ‘very strange’ crash at Sepang

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Marc Marquez took part in his first official test with Ducati in Malaysia on Wednesday. But it was another Spaniard on took all the headlines.

Defending champion Jorge Martin suffered a huge crash on his first outing with Aprilia. The 26-year-old had a violent highside at turn two and had a sickening landing on the ground.

Martin was taken to hospital for checks after he was complaining of pain in his right hand and left foot, as well as taking a knock to the head.

The Spaniard has now been ruled out of the rest of pre-season testing at Sepang. It is not currently known if he will be fit enough to complete testing at Buriram next week.

Several key figures and fellow riders have sent messages of support to the 26-year-old after the crash. Marquez sent a ‘big hug’ to Martin as he wished him a speedy recovery.

Marc Marquez did not expect Jorge Martin to crash given there was ‘a lot of grip’ on the track

Martin was not the only rider to crash at Sepang on day one of testing. Other notable names such as Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pedro Acosta and Raul Fernandez also had offs during the session.

Marco Bezzecchi is not sure why Martin crashed – and it seems Marquez does not know how the accident occurred either.

Speaking with GPOne after the session, the six-time MotoGP champion explained there was ‘a lot of grip’ on track – helped by the shakedown session held the week prior – and thus felt Martin’s crash was ‘very strange’.

READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia issues ‘insane’ verdict on Jorge Martin’s MotoGP testing crash

“It was windy, but I always say that crashes are more unexpected when there is a lot of grip on the track and here there was already a lot of due to the rubber left on the asphalt in the three days of the Shakedown”, he said.

“At least I found a lot of grip when I went out and I saw some very strange crashes, like those of Fernandez and Martin, to whom I send a big hug.

“On the first of the three days we had three riders out”.

How Aprilia staff are feeling after Jorge Martin’s crash in Malaysia

Martin is not the only Aprilia rider to be ruled out of the rest of testing at Sepang. Trackhouse’s Fernandez broke his hand in his accident earlier in the day and will also be sidelined.

Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura are the remaining Aprilia riders for Thursday and Friday’s sessions. The manufacturer will have to rely on the duo for their data gathering and mileage on the RS-GP25.

There had been high hopes and expectations for Martin’s first outing for Aprilia. The team are looking to take the fight to Ducati this season after they dominated the 2024 season.

But ‘every single ounce’ of Aprilia’s optimism drained after Martin’s crash. With the champion out, the team now face a difficult challenge for the rest of testing in Malaysia.