The factory Aprilia MotoGP team confirmed on Wednesday that Jorge Martín will travel to Qatar to try to race, despite not having recovered from the fracture to the radius in his right arm. The Spanish rider suffered a high-speed crash two weeks ago in the Australian Grand Prix sprint, while fighting Marc Marquez for victory, which fractured his right wrist and ruled him out of the following day’s main race before organizers canceled it due to rain and fog.
Recovery Efforts and Malaysia Withdrawal
Martín spent the next five days trying to prepare himself to return to the bike a week later at Sepang. After finishing almost two seconds off the fastest time in the first practice session on Friday and barely riding in the second session that afternoon, the rider decided to withdraw on Saturday before the first qualifying session and return to Spain.
On Wednesday, Aprilia and the rider confirmed his trip to Qatar, pending how his right wrist has progressed and whether he can apply the necessary force at Losail to stop the bike under braking, which served as his primary obstacle in Malaysia.
“It was a shame not to be able to continue the weekend at Sepang, but simply having had the chance to try was an achievement in itself,” said Martín, as reported by Motorsport.com. “I went back to Spain to continue the treatment I need to recover and to arrive in Qatar in the best possible shape. Now we’ll see how the body responds, and we’ll start working with the team on Thursday and see how far I can go.”
Championship Implications in Qatar
Martin will participate in a distorted weekend in Qatar, as Yamaha riders will be absent because the Japanese manufacturer maintained a travel restriction clause for employees regarding areas with armed conflict. Marquez enters the event with his first opportunity to secure an eighth MotoGP title. He will clinch the championship if he outscores Martin by 30 points and Marco Bezzecchi, Martin’s teammate in the factory Noale garage, by eight points.
In Malaysia, Bezzecchi endured a difficult weekend, culminating in a sixth-place finish on Sunday. The 66-point deficit between the Rimini rider and Márquez requires him to attack aggressively at Losail to postpone the title celebrations.
