Sylvain Guintoli has explained why he thinks Jorge Martin is the biggest underachiever of the 2026 MotoGP season so far, even though the Aprilia star leads the riders’ championship at the summer break.
Despite Marco Bezzecchi beginning the 2026 MotoGP campaign as the dominant rider within Aprilia’s setup, Jorge Martin’s consistency has shone through. The Italian led the standings for the majority of the season before Martin took control of the championship at Assen.
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The 2024 MotoGP world champion now holds a 14-point lead over stablemate Ai Ogura after 11 rounds of racing, but has just one race win to his name.
Both Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez have claimed three Grand Prix victories apiece so far, but have been hamstrung in the title race due to their respective absences from two Sunday races.
As such, premier class pundit Sylvain Guintoli expected Martin to be even further ahead given the setbacks that have been dealt to his championship rivals.
Sylvain Guintoli names Jorge Martin as MotoGP’s biggest underachiever this season so far
Martin’s status as the championship leader this year bodes some similarities to his title feat from the 2024 term. The Spaniard won just three Grands Prix to Francesco Bagnaia’s 11 that year, and still managed to walk away with the championship in his hands.
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With Marquez fully back in the mix now, though, it may prove to be a more difficult feat for Martin to reign supreme without asserting his authority on the grid week in, week out.
“Jorge Martin, for me, has not done as much as I thought he was going to do, for real,” Guintoli said on the Gas It Out podcast. “I thought he was going to win more. I thought he was going to be on top of Bezzecchi. I thought he wasn’t going to crash that much.”
Martin is currently among the frontrunners of the MotoGP crash leaderboards. Joan Mir leads the grid with 11 offs so far this season, with the factory Aprilia ace occupying the second-placed spot with 10.
After receiving some raised eyebrows to his verdict, Guintoli added, “We’re not talking about doing well or doing badly; we’re talking about overachieving and underachieving.
“I do genuinely feel like, yeah, he’s leading the championship, but he’s had chances to be leading it by so much more because he’s fit. He’s got away with not getting hurt in the crashes.
“Marc Marquez has been on the back foot since the start of the year. [Martin’s] teammate keeps throwing it down the road or slapping marshals and getting penalties, and so there was a real chance for him to capitalise on that.”
With Bezzecchi expected to return to action upon the resumption of racing after the summer break, it should be fascinating to see how the title race shapes up as the season reaches the most crucial rounds.
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