Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin is closing in on his return from injury, with Aprilia holding a private test session at Misano this Wednesday in the hope he will be fit for the Czech Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old has been sidelined since April after Martin sustained a hemopneumothorax and broke 11 ribs due to his crash during the Qatar Grand Prix when also hit by VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio. His injuries have so far forced the Spaniard to skip six rounds and counting.
Martin will not be racing in this weekend’s German Grand Prix, as his recovery is not yet at a stage where he can compete. But Aprilia will hold a private test for Martin on Wednesday at Misano, building on his outing with an RSV4 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week.
Aprilia and Martin hope he will then be fit to race in the Czech GP at Brno on July 20 during the final race of the 2025 MotoGP season before the summer. But Martin admitted that his ribs bothered him in Barcelona amid the Madrid native’s first outing since crashing in Qatar.
Loris Capirossi hopes Jorge Martin realises he should stay at Aprilia in 2026 on his return from injury
Martin returning from his injury prior to the summer break could even have big implications for the MotoGP rider market, as the reigning premier class champion strives to leave Aprilia. He only moved to Noale at the start of this year, yet Martin is looking to join Honda in 2026.
Honda have agreed a three-year contract with Martin, which they will only ratify once he is officially free from his contract at Aprilia. Yet while Martin has confirmed his desire to leave Aprilia, Loris Capirossi hopes the Spaniard sees he should stay when he returns from injury.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
Capirossi has told MOW: “I’m sorry because it’s a strange situation, which I don’t know and therefore I can’t speak about in detail, but which was born from unfortunate episodes that forced a guy to stay home, injured, for a long time.
“Now, Martin is recovering and should be back on the bike soon. Everything will become clearer in his head, too. We’ll see how it ends, but I sincerely hope that Martin and Aprilia continue together.
“Aprilia have grown a lot despite having only one rider who is in his first year with that bike and with a test rider who is also a rider on race weekends. The growth is evident.”
Jorge Martin may need too long to understand Aprilia’s bike to abandon his desire to join Honda
Aprilia do not believe Martin’s release clause is valid, and are insistent that he must honour the two-year contract the Spaniard signed to join the Italian factory. Martin had to be a title contender after the French Grand Prix, but missed five of the first six rounds through injury.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Aprilia from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
Since Martin informed Aprilia at Le Mans that he intended to activate the exit clause, he has seen Marco Bezzecchi win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Italian also pushed Marc Marquez of Ducati at the TT Circuit Assen, but Bezzecchi finished the Dutch GP 0.635s shy.
Martin’s agent Albert Valera irritated Honda at Assen, as well, after expressly stating that he can join the Japanese manufacturer for 2026 against Aprilia’s persistent stance that he has a contract with them. He will learn if the risk was worth it once Martin gets back on his RS-GP.
It will likely take Martin time to learn how he can maximise Aprilia’s RS-GP25, like Bezzecchi now does at circuits which suit the bike. But the time it takes Martin to understand the bike may also take too long for him to realise its full potential and elect to stay at Aprilia in 2026.
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