Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has finally made his return to MotoGP at the Qatar Grand Prix. The defending champion has stepped onto his RS-GP25 for the first time since his crash in pre-season.
The Spaniard suffered a violent highside on day one of testing in Sepang. Martin had multiple fractures to his hand and foot and had to fly to Europe to undergo surgery.
Aprilia’s optimism for 2025 was shattered as their star rider was ruled out for the rest of pre-season. The team hoped Martin would be back for the season opener in Buriram.
However, the 27-year-old crashed a supermoto bike during training. Martin broke his radius and scaphoid in his left hand, ruling him out for the first three races.
After a lengthy recovery, the Spaniard has returned to the MotoGP paddock for the Qatar Grand Prix. However, Martin will be closely monitored throughout the weekend as he is still feeling the effects of his injuries.
MotoGP cameras captured Jorge Martin unable to put his helmet on by himself
Martin has not ridden a motorcycle since his supermoto crash. The 27-year-old has been incredibly cautious with his recovery as he focuses on getting back to full fitness.
The Aprilia rider is not the only one recovering from an injury, as Fabio Di Giannantonio is still struggling after dislocating his elbow in Sepang. Diggia warned Martin ahead of Qatar about the ‘pain’ he is putting up with.
The defending champion will have to be extra careful, as his injuries are far more complicated. Martin has a ‘troublesome’ issue with his scaphoid as the bone can take time to heal with the limited blood flow.
It is clear Martin is still struggling with his hand as MotoGP cameras captured a concerning problem. A post from DAZN on X (formerly Twitter) showed the Aprilia rider was unable to put on his race helmet by himself.
It will take time for his hand to properly heal, but this is a worrying issue for Aprilia. Martin will not be up to speed straight away and it may even take months before the Noale-based manufacturer reap the full benefits of having him on board.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
Neil Hodgson noted Jorge Martin looked ‘uncomfortable’ after seeing his body language during FP1
Naturally, the Spaniard is not looking to rush things with his recovery. Martin knows he cannot start chasing wins from the off as he could run the risk of another injury.
For the time being, he will use the early races like a test – after all, he had only 13 laps on the RS-GP25 before he crashed in Malaysia. Neil Hodgson noticed Martin looked ‘awkward’ on the bike in FP1 in Qatar with his injuries still proving a problem.
“Jorge Martin’s shaking his head there. You can just sense that he feels awkward, uncomfortable,” he said via TNT Sports 2.
“And the problem is you’ve nowhere to hide on a live track with the fastest riders in the world circulating around you.”
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