Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin is nearing closer to his MotoGP return with Aprilia. The defending champion is set to make his comeback to the premier class for the Grand Prix of Qatar.
Aprilia have not yet reaped the benefits of the Spaniard since signing him from Pramac. Martin has been out injured since pre-season after a violent highside during testing in Sepang.
During his recovery, Martin crashed a motocross bike in training and left him with more fractures to his left hand. The severity of the injury has left the 27-year-old sidelined for the opening three races of the season.
During that time, Ducati have maintained their dominance in MotoGP. The factory team have won every race so far, with Francesco Bagnaia ending Marc Marquez’s streak of five consecutive races at the Grand Prix of the Americas.
Interestingly, neither factory Ducati rider leads the championship. Gresini’s Alex Marquez has amassed 87 points thus far as he leads his brother by one point – already spelling the end of Martin’s title defence.
Jorge Martin seemed ‘much more relaxed’ for the first time in ‘years’ ahead of Aprilia return in Qatar
While his title chances are all but over, Martin will be looking to get back onto the RS-GP25 and get some mileage in. He will likely use this season to get up to speed before mounting a challenge in 2026.
It seems the Spaniard knows this as journalist Simon Patterson noticed a change he had not seen in ‘literally years’ in Austin. Speaking via The Race MotoGP Podcast, he says Martin looked ‘much more relaxed’ ahead of his comeback.
“It’s almost like having concessions isn’t it? He’s got the rest of the season to kind of test in races and build into an actual programme for next year with o pressure whatsoever to deliver results.
“I think he kind of knows that too. Because whenever we sat down with him in COTA, I mean he was much more relaxed that I’ve seen Jorge Martin for literally years.
“His opening line was like: ‘Oh, I actually missed you guys!’ Which is not the sort of joke he normally cracks. He’s in a fairly low-pressure position at the minute.”
Aprilia will be desperate to have Jorge Martin back after their start to the 2025 season
Martin admits his rib injury is still a concern ahead of his MotoGP return. There are doubts about whether he will be fit for Qatar – Aprilia will desperately hope he is.
The manufacturer have had a difficult start to the season with effectively two riders. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori has been filling in for Martin while Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez has also struggled with injury.
That has left Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi to score the points for Aprilia. While the former has impressed in his first three races in MotoGP, the latter has not quite lived up to expectations.
There will be pressure on the number one rider’s shoulders, with Kevin Schwantz thinking Martin will not be up to speed until the summer break. But having the 27-year-old back on the track will be a much-needed confidence boost for Aprilia.
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