Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia rider Jorge Martin thinks he has now “unlocked” a new ability to complete last-lap overtakes after how he beat Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia to win the Sprint at COTA.
Martin scored his first victory for Aprilia in any race format last time out at the United States Grand Prix, as he hauled in Bagnaia on the last lap to win the Sprint at the end of March. He had also not been on the top step of any podium since the Sprint at the 2024 Malaysian GP.
Aprilia seldom saw the best of Martin during his first season with the Italian factory in 2025, having had a year from hell with multiple injury lay-offs on the back of arriving from Pramac as the 2024 MotoGP champion. Martin is also still not yet operating at 100% fitness in 2026.
The 28-year-old required further surgeries over the winter to resolve ongoing issues with his collarbone and left hand, both of which he broke last year. While Martin is still recovering to full fitness, he has already scored more than twice as many points in 2026 as he did in 2025.
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Jorge Martin feels he ‘unlocked’ an ability to make last lap overtakes beating Francesco Bagnaia at COTA
Martin scored just 34 points in 2025, yet he boasts 77 through the first three rounds of 2026 after taking back-to-back P2 Grand Prix finishes in Brazil and America plus P3 in the Goiania Sprint and the victory in the COTA Sprint. It was even Martin’s record 17th career Sprint win.
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Bagnaia admitted that Martin “deserved” his Sprint win at COTA, having made full use of his decision to start the dash on the medium rear Michelin tyre instead of the soft. Martin was the sole rider who did not use the soft Michelin rear tyre, which gave him more grip late on.
The extra grip allowed Martin to overturn his 1.409-second deficit to Bagnaia with only two and a half laps remaining in the COTA Sprint. Martin ultimately made his race-winning move on Bagnaia at Turn 12, and he feels like it proved that he can now come from behind to win.
Martin told AS: “Maybe I had not thought about it before. But when you have it there, and you’ve been through so much, I thought it might be my last chance to win a Sprint.
“So I said, ‘I’m going all out for it, and then we’ll see’. And that’s what happened. I’d never won on the last lap by overtaking another rider, with me behind him. So, it was a skill [that I] unlocked, and one of my best Sprint victories.”
Martin has traditionally been able to win from the front, as he is one of the fastest riders on the MotoGP grid in qualifying, so he has seldom needed to come from behind to win like he did in the Sprint at COTA. He also previously struggled to make last-lap passes when trailing.
The Madrid native has shown in the past, including notably against Bagnaia to win the 2023 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, that he can ride defensively to hold onto a victory on the final lap. Now, Martin feels like he can also ride aggressively to win races on the final lap.
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