Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin will make his official Aprilia debut in first practice for the Grand Prix of Qatar on Friday. This comes after he received on-site medical approval.
Aprilia announced this week that Martin would travel to Qatar with the intention of racing. He still needed to pass one final check at the Lusail International Circuit, but he completed it without issue.
The 2024 world champion missed the first three races of the 2025 season due to injuries sustained in a winter crash. He’d already had to undergo surgery after an accident on day one of testing.
Test rider Lorenzo Savadori has been filling in for Aprilia in his absence. Savadori will be on standby in case Martin doesn’t feel strong enough to ride.
Massimo Rivola pushed for Martin to be granted a test before his return. But the other four MotoGP manufacturers didn’t agree on the requisite rule change, so he hasn’t ridden premier-class machinery since the start of February.
MotoGP medical chief continues to supervise Jorge Martin at Qatar Grand Prix
According to AS Motor, MotoGP’s chief medical officer Angel Charte will directly supervise all of Martin’s on-track sessions at the Qatar Grand Prix. As such, it’s not guaranteed that he’ll complete the whole weekend.
A further report from Motorsport Espana adds that Martin will meet Charte again after Friday practice to ‘confirm that everything is in order’. The 27-year-old will naturally be desperate to ride.
Equally, though, Martin had already accepted he wouldn’t win the title before the season started, and that’s almost a certainty now. As such, there’s little incentive to put himself at risk by riding through the pain.
Elsewhere, Miguel Oliveira remains out for Pramac. The Portuguese was injured in a collision with Fermin Aldeguer in Argentina, so the team have turned to Augusto Fernandez.
The Lusail corner that should strike fear into Jorge Martin before Aprilia debut
Worryingly, Martin still has a mystery rib problem before his first race of 2025. He admitted in an interview that doctors have been a little confused by the issue, so it may be playing on his mind in addition to his wrist and foot complaints.
Randy Mamola believes Martin has learned from Marc Marquez, who nearly ‘destroyed his career’ by rushing back from injury too soon. Aprilia have had to temper their inevitable excitement and protect their long-term interests.
MotoGP legend Kevin Schwantz thinks Martin may need nine races to return to his best. Schwantz found during his career that it typically took three times the length of an absence to rediscover top form.
As for this weekend, the ‘severe’ turn one braking could punish Martin most. He may discover whether he’s truly ready right at the start of his initial push lap.
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