Jorge Martin just proved the ‘tension’ with Aprilia is still ‘very high’ with one simple act

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Jorge Martin will spend another round on the sidelines as the MotoGP field heads to Assen for the Dutch Grand Prix, yet his quest to leave Aprilia keeps tongues wagging.

The Spaniard has still only contested one round of the 2025 MotoGP season after his crash and resulting injuries in the Qatar Grand Prix. Martin suffered a hemopneumothorax and 11 broken ribs when he fell on Lap 13/22 at Lusail on his competitive debut with Aprilia in April.

So, with Martin not due to return from injury for the Dutch GP, Assen is the ninth round that the 27-year-old will miss since he joined Aprilia. And instead of the Madrid native defending his 2024 riders’ title, all of the talk is still about Martin’s confirmed intention to leave Aprilia.

Jorge Martin proved the ‘tension’ with Aprilia is still ‘very high’ by not showing up at Mugello

Martin informed Aprilia at Le Mans that he wanted to trigger a release clause in his contract which voids the second year of his deal. Aprilia gave Martin a £7m two-year contract, but he had to decide before the clause expired after the French Grand Prix if he would stay in 2026.

Yet the Noale factory insist the eight-time premier class Grand Prix winner is going nowhere, as Aprilia do not believe Martin’s exit clause is valid. And MOW now reports that Aprilia told Martin’s manager, Albert Valera, at Mugello that they will not back down about their stance.

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Aprilia told Valera that Martin will either race on the RS-GP in 2026 or the Spaniard will have to buy his way out of his contract. The Italian outfit are happy to welcome Martin back ‘with open arms’, but his decision not to show up at Mugello proved the ‘tension’ between them.

Martin choosing not to attend Aprilia’s home race, the Italian Grand Prix, proved that there remain ‘very high’ levels of ‘tension’ between the two camps. It also makes the chances of him deciding to stay for 2026 smaller than after Martin attended the Aprilia All Stars event.

When will Jorge Martin announce his final decision on staying at or leaving Aprilia?

Despite Martin agreeing to a three-year contract with Honda, who will not finalise any move until he has officially left Aprilia, the Spaniard is still to make his final decision about forcing any exit. Some within Honda are having second thoughts about signing Martin now, as well.

MOW adds that Martin will likely announce his final decision about leaving Aprilia at Misano in September. He is expected to return from injury at the Czech Grand Prix (July 18-20) and will use the Brno race plus the following three rounds to judge the level of Aprilia’s RS-GP25.

The 2025 summer break follows the Czech GP, before resuming at the Austrian GP (August 15-17). Martin will then use the Hungarian GP (August 22-24) and Catalan GP (September 5-7) to make his decision, before going to Misano for the San Marino GP on September 12-14.