Marco Bezzecchi
Neil Hodgson has praised Aprilia star Jorge Martin for his “ability” to be “inch perfect” from the start after he won the Sprint Race at the 2026 French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
Martin entered the 2026 season still without his first podium with Aprilia since he joined the Noale factory last year. But Saturday at Le Mans saw the Spaniard earn his second Sprint win of the season so far, as he overcame starting the Sprint from P8 on the grid to win by 1.107s.
Unlike his first Sprint win of the year at the Circuit of the Americas, Martin’s Sprint win at Le Mans this Saturday came purely through his pace from the start. Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia had no reply to Martin’s pace after the Italian lost the lead of the Le Mans Sprint off the line.
Who was your rider of the French Grand Prix Sprint race?
Neil Hodgson hails Jorge Martin for finding the ‘limit’ from the start
Aprilia saw Martin win the COTA Sprint at the United States Grand Prix this March with a last-lap move on Bagnaia. The 28-year-old secured glory in Texas as he chose to run the medium rear tyre compared to the Italian using the soft tyre, which made for a big speed differential.
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His phenomenal start made all the difference for Martin at Le Mans, though, as he flew from the middle of the third row on the grid into P4 before Turn 1. Martin then took his brave pill and went deep on the outside at Turn 3, before flying up Marco Bezzecchi’s inside at Turn 4.
Hodgson thinks Martin’s ability to produce quick starts and immediately find his stride was vital for the Aprilia star’s victory in the Le Mans Sprint. Yet the victory was still a surprise as he qualified in P8, despite him looking the best he has ever been on the Aprilia in practice.
“He was just inch perfect,” Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2 (09/05, 14:26). “He’s always had that ability just to go straight to the limit on those opening laps.
“That’s why he’s won so many Sprint Races. He looked good in FP1, though. [They] showed him in FP1, and I thought, ‘That’s as good as I’ve seen him look on the Aprilia’.
“I thought [he could take pole] because of what I’d seen earlier on in the weekend, and then when he qualified on the third row, I was thinking, ‘Well, he isn’t going to win this race.”
Michael Laverty thinks Jorge Martin will regret signing for Yamaha on his current form
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With two Sprint wins in the bag through the first five rounds of the season, Michael Laverty thinks Martin will also now regret his reported decision to leave Aprilia for Yamaha next year. It is widely thought that Martin agreed to sign with Yamaha for 2027 back in February.
Laverty said (09/05, 14:37): “He did it before at Pramac. He got the number one plate, [and then] went to Aprilia. Could he do it again at Aprilia, and go to Yamaha with another championship? It’s possible.
“He’s getting ever so close in terms of the points, but it’s how comfortable he looks on the bike, for me. He looks so good with it right now, and the Jorge Martin of old prior to those injuries is back.
“The comments from Massimo Rivola are that it’s not a done deal that he’s going to Yamaha. But who knows it? They have a Plan B if Jorge does exit Aprilia, but he wouldn’t want to now.
“Obviously, these decisions are made so early, we expected maybe to wait until this point, until we come back to Europe. But we believe those contracts were signed maybe back at rounds two and three. So, it’s a bit of a shame if he does exit early on current form.”
Yamaha moved quickly to convince Martin to sign with them for the start of the 850cc rules next year after their star rider Fabio Quartararo agreed to join Honda for 2027. Both moves are considered an open secret in the paddock, although neither deal has been announced.
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