Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin doesn’t have too much time to make a decision about his MotoGP future before it’s too late to do whatever he wants to.
The shocking revelation that the reigning champion wants to leave Aprilia before even completing a race for them was uncovered ahead of the British Grand Prix. His team responded in fine fashion by winning the race with Marco Bezzecchi.
Martin could seriously shake up the MotoGP rider market if he decides to join somewhere like Honda, creating a factory opening at one of the top premier class outfits for 2026 and beyond. Multiple names have been linked with the ride, but no decisions can be made until Martin’s exit is confirmed.
After working hard to recover from a devastating Grand Prix of Qatar injury over the last few weeks, Martin received ‘very difficult’ news from doctors, confirming that it’s unlikely he will be able to make his return at the German Grand Prix next month.
The Spaniard made an appearance in a garage on June 1, with Martin ‘risking’ disaster at an Aprilia event by riding two motorcycles despite still having a fractured scaphoid. Any further damage would see him effectively ruled out for the rest of the year.
Aprilia are ‘refusing’ to change Jorge Martin’s MotoGP contract for him
Martin feels ‘deceived’ by Aprilia and is frustrated by their denial that there is an exit clause in his contract which permits him to leave ahead of 2026. It’s just slightly strange that he doesn’t want to give their bike a little bit of time himself before making such a big decision.
After a breakthrough win at Silverstone a few weeks ago, one Aprilia chief sent Martin a clear ‘message’, after their bike proved itself on track for the first time this campaign.
Journalist David Emmett has now revealed that the Italian manufacturer are simply refusing to do one thing for Martin, which may even hand them a better chance of retaining him in the future.
“Apparently, if we’re to believe Martin’s camp, basically refusing to change the contract, they’re forcing Martin to make a decision one way or another,” he said.
“What they really wanted was to play it along, to push it out. Because even Honda’s patience is going to run out at a certain point and there will be other things. If Martin does go to Honda, then all of a sudden we have got a completely explosive rider market on our hands.”
When is Jorge Martin going to return to MotoGP action in 2025?
After speaking in Misano recently, Martin admitted that he wants to get back onto a MotoGP bike at least before the summer break.
It’s not clear whether he means that has to be at a race or not, but taking more time off to heal probably isn’t going to be a bad idea. Doing long-term damage would be a disaster for him.
Martin did something ‘very clever’ on his Aprilia return and moved to a faster bike after familiarising himself with being on two wheels again.
His hunger to ride clearly remains, but when he gets back on a premier class bike, how is he going to handle all of the external pressure that now exists?
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