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Miguel Oliveira shares ‘the truth’ about what Jorge Martin ‘made’ him realise with his situation at Aprilia

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Jorge Martin has dominated a lot of the headlines so far in the 2025 MotoGP season with his injury nightmare and now his bid to leave Aprilia amid interest from Honda.

Much of the talk ahead of the British Grand Prix has also focused on Martin telling Aprilia at Le Mans he plans to trigger an exit clause in the two-year contract the 27-year-old signed to join them in 2025. But Aprilia do not think Martin’s exit clause is valid due to his injury woes.

Aprilia confirmed on Thursday at Silverstone that they do not intend to let Martin leave after missing five of the first six rounds of the season. The Noale team have also asked their rivals not to send him an offer, with Honda ready to double Martin’s Aprilia wage if he is available.

Martin had to rank in the top three of the 2025 riders’ championship after the French Grand Prix for the exit clause in his Aprilia contract to become null and void. Yet he does not have a single point so far in the 2025 MotoGP season after his crashes in pre-season and in Qatar.

Aprilia rider Jorge Martin speaks to media at the 2025 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix
Photo by Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Jorge Martin’s Qatar Grand Prix crash helped convince Miguel Oliveira to delay his injury return

It even remains unclear when Martin will return from the pneumothorax and 11 broken ribs the Aprilia ace suffered when he crashed in the Qatar Grand Prix and was accidentally hit by VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio. Martin did not fly home after the incident for two weeks.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Miguel Oliveira from net worth to wife

It was a cruel blow, as Martin returned from complex fractures in his left hand in Qatar after missing three rounds after a pre-season crash on a Supermoto. Pramac pilot Miguel Oliveira seeing Martin crash also convinced the 30-year-old to push back his own return from injury.

The Portuguese dislocated a sternoclavicular ligament in his left shoulder in round two after a crash at the Argentina Grand Prix, and he only returned last time out. Oliveira finished the Le Mans Sprint in P20, before crashing at the final turn with eight laps of the French GP left.

Oliveira told Estrella Galicia: “I had thought about returning before but I simply didn’t do it because of a physical inability, not because Martin might have returned too soon.

“But, yes, what happened to Martin made me take my time returning at Le Mans, always taking solid steps.

“I didn’t try to do more than my physical condition allowed, so as not to let frustration get in the way. The truth is that, from the outside, experiencing what Martin has experienced has definitely helped me.”

Miguel Oliveira must build on his encouraging injury return amid uncertainty about his Pramac Yamaha future

Oliveira was looking for a likely seventh-place finish in the French GP before his crash at the same corner which eliminated Pramac teammate Jack Miller, who was primed to lead at Le Mans as rival riders pitted to move back from slick to wet tyres as the conditions worsened.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Pramac from the MotoGP team’s riders to bike

It was a positive result nonetheless for the Portuguese ace after he missed three full rounds and the Argentina GP through injury. But it has to mark the start as Yamaha are considering Oliveira’s future at Pramac, despite him having a factory contract through the 2026 season.

Yamaha intend to make a decision on their satellite rider line-up for Pramac by the summer break. So, Oliveira may have just six rounds to convince the Japanese manufacturer to keep him under contract, starting from this Sunday’s British GP through to the Czech Grand Prix.