Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin’s first season with Aprilia has got off to a nightmare start. The defending champion has been ruled out of pre-season testing in Malaysia after a crash on day one.
The 26-year-old suffered a highside at turn two which sent him crashing to the ground in a sickening impact. As a result of the injuries to his right hand and left foot, Martin will now miss the remainder of testing in Malaysia.
Several riders have sent messages of support to the Spaniard, including title rival Francesco Bagnaia who wished Martin well after the ‘insane’ accident.
After the three-day session at Sepang, MotoGP heads for a two-day test in Buriram on February 12-13 – the venue of the first race of the 2025 season for the Thailand GP later in the month.
As it stands, it is not currently known what Martin’s recovery time will be. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio also suffered test-ending injuries on day one.
Jorge Martin will now not be expected to win the first race of the season after Malaysia crash
Expectations had been high at Aprilia for a successful session with Martin at Sepang. But ‘every single ounce’ of optimism drained from Aprilia after the 26-year-old’s crash.
However, with the defending champion now in doubt for the start of the season, the pressure may be taken off Martin and Aprilia.
Martin has said himself he cannot win the 2025 title, but journalist Simon Patterson says that he will not be expected to do that. The injury will affect the Spaniard across the season, giving him a ‘get out of jail free card’ with Aprilia.
“I mean if anything, this takes a bit of pressure off everyone”, said Patterson via the The Race MotoGP Podcast.
“Because now he’s not going to be expected to win the first race. He’s not going to be expected to try and really defend that number one plate.
“He’s kind of got a get out of jail free card for what was going to be a difficult season anyway.
“It will impact his whole season. There was a few people that were very quick to speak up and commiserate with him and say that they do expect it will impact his full season, people like Franco Morbidelli that have been there and done that, because they lost all of last year’s pre-season testing.
“So, it will have a long-term impact, but it’s not a disaster. It’s not the disaster this would have been 12 months ago for him on a Pramac Ducati”.
MotoGP tyre supplier Michelin has come under scrutiny for Jorge Martin’s crash
The sheer amount of accidents on day one has left many questioning what has caused these to occur. Marc Marquez was confused by Martin’s crash as he found plenty of grip on track on his Ducati.
Luca Marini says Martin was ‘at the limit’ like other riders. Many feared being a ‘nobody’ if they did not lap faster than 1:59.
Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola did not blame rider error or the bike for Martin’s accident. Instead, he shifted criticism at tyre supplier Michelin for being an unsuitable rubber to the circuit.
Michelin manager Piero Taramasso noticed Martin was outpacing his rivals through the data as he refused to blame the tyres for his crash. But Aprilia are not the only ones voicing their concerns about the rubber.
VR46 chief Alessio Salucci admitted he is ‘afraid’ to test as the tyres are ‘useless’ for long stints. He has called for Dorna to act on the matter as it is detrimental to MotoGP.
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