Why Jorge Martin was ‘really scared’ in his first MotoGP session for four months at the Czech Grand Prix

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Jorge Martin finally returned to MotoGP with Aprilia after a seven-round absence due to injuries sustained at the Qatar Grand Prix in April.

Jorge Martin broke 11 ribs and punctured a lung at the fourth Grand Prix of the season, after also missing the first three due to a brutal crash which occurred during a pre-season test in Sepang.

The injury has meant the Spaniard hasn’t been able to put up much of a title defence in 2025 following his first MotoGP championship last season.

All signs point towards Marc Marquez sealing his seventh title in the premier class of motorcycle racing this year and putting on a show whilst he’s at it.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend

Jorge Martin was ‘really scared’ about the conditions on track during FP1 in Brno

The Spaniard finished his first MotoGP session for four months with the 17th fastest time on the grid, some two-and-a-half seconds off Marquez’s benchmark of 1:54.606.

However, Martin did set a more competitive time on the soggy Brno circuit in the latter stages of FP1, which was then deleted due to exceeding track limits.

Speaking to Jack Appleyard following the conclusion of the session, Martin shared his immediate thoughts, saying, “I’m a little bitter they took out my lap, but yeah, I felt good. I was close to my teammate, two-tenths to Marco, which I think is a good start.

“Now we need to make some adjustments and hopefully the track will improve because I was really scared because of the damp patches, but I’m really happy to be back.”

Martin’s deleted lap time was a 1:56.078, which would have given him the ninth fastest lap of the session, a very solid return for the Spaniard who has had very limited time on his Aprilia RS-GP25.

Jorge Martin now has half a season to get to grips with Aprilia and mount a challenge in 2026

The Czech Republic Grand Prix officially marks the start of the second half of the 2025 MotoGP season, giving Martin a good amount of time to be able to get up to speed with his Aprilia and mount a challenge to dethrone Marquez and Ducati in 2026.

One of the reasons for the 27-year-old wanting to trigger the release clause in his Aprilia contract during his rehabilitation period was down to the fact that Martin was ‘afraid’ that the RS-GP25 wasn’t the calibre of bike that he was promised in initial negotiations.

The Spaniard’s U-turn came after an Aprilia test at Misano to see if he was race-ready for the upcoming Grand Prix in Brno. Martin told his agent that he feels Aprilia’s bike is ‘much better’ than the one he rode in Qatar.

With there being little to no chance that Martin can offer a championship challenge in 2025, he must now use the remaining 12 rounds to prepare for the season ahead, where he can hopefully compete from the first race.