413-point rider is the ‘unwanted talk of the town’ at Silverstone after Jorge Martin ignited rider market

Add as preferred source on Google

Jorge Martin isn’t present in the British Grand Prix paddock this weekend. The MotoGP world champion made a flying visit to Le Mans last time out and transformed this year’s rider market landscape.

Martin visited his Aprilia team to inform them that he was triggering an exit clause in his contract. He believes he’s entitled to leave halfway through the two-year contract because of his championship position.

The former Pramac rider sits bottom of the standings after missing six of the first seven Grands Prix through injury. Aprilia believe Martin’s clause is invalid on that basis.

However, there’s no mention of injury in Martin’s deal. He seems to be targeting a move to the resurgent Honda team.

HRC team boss Alberto Puig has expressed interest in Martin this weekend. But the Japanese manufacturer don’t want to launch a move until he’s made a clean break.

Luca Marini’s name is on everybody’s lips in the British Grand Prix paddock

With Martin missing as he continues his recovery, there’s plenty of talk in the British Grand Prix paddock about the riders who may be at risk. According to TNT Sports commentator Gavin Emmett, the whispers are focusing on Luca Marini.

Marini’s contract is up at the end of the season. He joined the Honda factory team in 2024 following the departure of Marc Marquez.

Marquez negotiated his way out of his contract a year early. That’s why Marini is out of sync in this year’s rider market, with the timing of Martin’s decision potentially unfortunate for the Italian.

“Luca Marini is the unwanted talk of the town, and what I mean by that is that it’s his seat that is up for grabs,” Emmett said. “His contract runs to the end of this year, like Franky Morbidelli.

Neil Hodgson replied: “If Marini’s contract’s up, and you could have Jorge Martin instead of him. It’s a no-brainer. That’s fact.”

Luca Marini should feel hard done by amid ‘crazy’ Joan Mir crash stat

Speaking during FP2, Hodgson shared a remarkable statistic he’s heard about Marini’s teammate, Joan Mir. The 2020 world champion has already crashed out of six events this season.

And going back to the same stage of the 2024 season, Mir has only finished in the points on four occasions. But his past achievements may be shielding him from scrutiny.

“Is it two finishes in 11 races?” Hodgson said. “It’s a crazy stat. Imagine! And they’ve all been crashes.

“Normally when you keep crashing, you get to the point where you go ‘Do you know what, I’m just going to go a little bit slower and bring it home?’.

While his deal runs until the end of 2026, there are rumours that Mir’s contract isn’t watertight. That means it’s not a foregone conclusion that Martin replaces Marini.