Marco Bezzecchi
2024 MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin missed much of last season through injury. It took until round four in Qatar for Martin to make his Aprilia debut, but he immediately suffered another serious accident.
Martin would not return until the Czech GP just before the summer break. It was an absence of seven rounds and over three months.
For Martin, the challenge wasn’t just getting used to the Aprilia motorcycle. He also had to return to peak physical condition.
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And after the San Marino GP, his fifth race back, he shared his heart rate with journalists, including Simon Patterson of The Race.
MotoGP rider heart rates are up to 50bpm higher than an F1 driver
According to Patterson, Martin’s heart rate had exceeded 190 beats per minute (bpm) during the 27-lap San Marino Grand Prix.
One of the special guests in attendance during the weekend was Lando Norris, the McLaren Formula 1 star and newly-crowned world champion. He compared heart rate data with Martin and found that his was around 50bpm lower during races.
This is likely because driving an F1 car takes a greater toll on the muscles, particularly in the neck, than it does on the lungs.
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Patterson said: “He’s adamant that he’s fully fit to the extent that, during his media debrief on Sunday evening, he pulled out his Garmin app on his phone to show us that he’d hit 192 beats per minute during the race.
“The reason he was so excited to show us how high it had been is because his new mate, Lando Norris, has been hanging out with him all weekend. His heart rate goes so much lower during the race, because they’re not using their cardio system the same way. They’re using more muscle strength, but less cardio.
“Him and Lando have been comparing heart rates, and he’s like 50bpm higher during a MotoGP race than Norris is in an F1 race.”
Lando Norris is a huge fan of Valentino Rossi and MotoGP
Norris idolises Valentino Rossi, as evidenced by his fluorescent yellow helmet. He was an avid fan of motorbikes as a child before he switched focus to four wheels.
According to Norris, MotoGP is much ‘cooler’ than F1. He now has the opportunity to speak to Rossi as a peer, and The Doctor congratulated him on his first world championship.
Rossi says MotoGP is unmatched when it comes to the feeling of ‘adrenaline’ on the starting grid. This may partly be down to the greater danger.
In 2025, no F1 drivers missed a race through injury. But more than half of the full-time MotoGP riders (12 out of 22) were absent for at least one event.
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