Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin suffered a disastrous return to MotoGP at the Grand Prix of Qatar and crashed out of Sunday’s race with eight laps to go.
The reigning champion has suffered a collapsed lung and six broken ribs, which may see him sidelined for yet another extended period and miss a further portion of the MotoGP season.
Martin ran wide at turn 12, before falling off his bike and and being hit by VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, who used his excellent reflexes to avoid a far worse outcome.
The Aprilia rider then sat on the side of the track for a few laps as medical personnel attended to him. He was in visible pain on the run-off when he finally came to a stop after rolling over some of the Grand Prix of Qatar’s heavy kerbs.
Martin is ‘tired’ of one Aprilia problem and found his riding position was giving him plenty of grief all weekend in Lusail.
It was a shame for the weekend to end on such a damp note for the 27-year-old. ‘Nobody’ would’ve predicted what Martin did in Qatar when he managed to overtake rival Francesco Bagnaia during the sprint race.
MotoGP fans say FIM stewards should have thrown red flag for ‘disturbing’ Jorge Martin crash
While Martin received treatment on the side of the circuit, racing continued under yellow flag conditions, with the stewards seeing no need for further measures.
This has led to quite a response from fans on social media, who have disagreed with the decision not to red-flag the race.
“Good race tonight. However, the most disturbing thing is we raced under double-wave yellows for over 2 laps whilst Jorge Martin lay being treated on the outside of a corner a bloody fast one at that.
“The danger the marshalls, medics, and Jorge were put in was unacceptable,” wrote one fan on X (formerly known as Twitter).
That wasn’t the only fiery response, with someone else stating, “Very close to a much bigger disaster for Jorge Martín. And we’ll talk about him being treated on the track and the bikes continuing to pass VERY close, almost at full speed, for another day. A double yellow flag that serves no purpose.”
Another fan said, “I find it unacceptable he was being treated trackside under waved yellows for at least two laps. If [a] rider can’t be moved then red flag, no excuses.”
“That was supposed to be a red flag!” wrote another upset fan.
“This is not acceptable. This should have been a red flag! Imagine someone else crashing there,” concluded one fan on the incident.
READ MORE: Aprilia star Jorge Martin knows he’ll ‘get injured again’ if he does one thing at Qatar Grand Prix
Gavin Emmett says Jorge Martin will ‘not be flying’ after Qatar Grand Prix crash
It’s unknown how long Martin may be out for and whether he has disturbed the ankles or wrists he injured during pre-season.
His current condition alone could see him miss the next few races, but his determination to return may not be so strong this time.
TNT Sports’ Gavin Emmett mentioned that the Spaniard would not be leaving Qatar to return home very soon.
“That’s what I’m saying. Jorge will not be flying tonight. He will not be flying in the next few days. Over the years I remember Loris Capirossi in Barcelona,” he said.
“Do you remember that huge crash in 2006? He’s broken some mirrors, ran over a few cats has Jorge at the start of this season.”
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