Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin returns to the venue where he sealed his MotoGP world championship at the Catalan Grand Prix this weekend. But it’s only his fifth appearance of the season.
Martin, who had missed almost all of pre-season testing through injury, didn’t debut for Aprilia until the Qatar GP after a supermoto crash in late February.
During the race at Lusail, he was hit by Fabio di Giannantonio as he fell from his Aprilia bike, an impact that left him with 11 fractured ribs and a punctured lung. After a spell in a local hospital, he returned to Europe and began a gruelling recovery.
Martin managed to get back on the bike just before the summer break, and is now hoping to compete for podiums, and potentially even victories, before the season is out. An excellent fourth place at the Hungarian GP was an encouraging step in that direction.
Jorge Martin doubts he could have beaten Marc Marquez even if fully fit
Martin may be running with the number one plate this season, but his injuries have wrecked any attempt at a title defence. Indeed, while he’s bound to keep climbing, he arrives in Barcelona 20th in the standings.
Speaking in the winter, Martin ruled out a 2025 title bid at Aprilia. But the Noale outfit have perhaps exceeded expectations, with Marco Bezzecchi now up to fourth in the standings.
Marc Marquez has been allowed to cruise towards the world championship, winning 10 out of 14 Grands Prix or 23 out of 28 races overall. Speaking to outlets including Motorsport Espana on Thursday, Martin was asked whether he could have challenged the Ducati rider had he been fully fit.
He says his focus has always been on 2026, though he’s unsure if he’ll be sufficiently confident on the bike to compete for the title next year.
“It wasn’t my intention at any point this year to fight for the world championship while being part of a new project and with a new bike,” he said. “Now is the time to build.
“Maybe if I had been injury-free and working hard all year, I could guarantee that next year I could fight for the world championship, but right now I don’t know. My current goal is to lay a good foundation for them to arrive in the best possible shape for 2026, but without expectations. I don’t know what will happen.”
Jorge Martin’s glowing verdict on Marc Marquez’s 2025 performances
During the press conference, Martin praised Marquez for the ‘tremendous’ benchmark he’d set. A strong favourite for 2026 too, he forces his rivals to ‘raise their bar’.
Marquez’s season may have appeared straightforward from the outside, but Martin says it’s extremely ‘difficult’ to win ‘without a rival’ at this level of racing.
“What Marc has done is incredible; for me, he’s a tremendous example,” he said. “I always look up to the best and most talented riders, and if they improve their level, it’s better for me, because that raises my bar and my limits. Now he’s the man to beat, and I’ll try to keep working to close the gap.
He added to Spanish media: “Marc’s performance is very difficult to match, very difficult. The difficult thing is to win championships like he is, basically without a rival, right now he has no rival.”
In a recent interview, Martin said Marquez was on the same level as Valentino Rossi. Depending on results this weekend, the Ant of Cervera could be crowned at Misano, the de facto home race of his great rival.
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