After clinching the 2024 MotoGP Championship, Jorge Martín was facing a new challenge last year. Not only was he defending his championship, a task some deem harder than taking the win, but he was also heading to a new team and departing Prima Pramac Racing for Aprilia Racing. Despite the team change, many still viewed Martín as a favourite for the championship and were expecting a Martín versus Ducati Lenovo Team battle at the front of the grid.
However, 2025 took a different direction for the champion, and his season was almost over before it started. Unable to properly defend his title, 2025 became a year of contract rumours and survival. Crashes and rumours plagued Martín in 2025, but what actually happened?
Crashes and Injuries To Start The Season
Crashing on the opening day of the Sepang pre-season test, Martín faced an unfortunate start to his 2025 season. The highside left him with fractures in his hand and foot, causing him to withdraw from the test and return to Spain for surgery. This early error was an initial sign of where his season would go. During a training session for his recovery, another crash saw Martín need further surgery on his left hand. Consequently, the reigning champion was out of the first three MotoGP rounds.
The Qatar Grand Prix marked the Spaniard’s return to the track for the first time in 2025. After a slow start to the weekend, he qualified 14th. In the sprint race, he put up a good fight, but ultimately finished P16, only 0.188 seconds outside of the points. However, the main race didn’t go to plan. Lap 14 saw him lose control throughout a corner, and Fabio Di Giannantonio ran into him as he was going down.
Consequently, Martín retired from the race and headed straight for the medical centre. After only just recovering from his hand and foot fractures, he now faced 11 rib fractures. Having to stay in Qatar until he was stable, Martín developed a pneumothorax and required a chest drain.
In May 2025, MotoGP announced a new rule amendment where injured riders would be allowed to privately test on a MotoGP bike if they had missed more than three Grands Prix. This new rule allowed Martín to return to the track ahead of his official return. Initially, he completed a successful test on the Aprilia RSV4 production bike at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. And 87 days after the crash, he tested the Aprilia RS-GP25 in Misano. Running 64 laps, the test went smoothly with no injuries reported.
Martín‘s Brief Return
Successfully completing the private test and passing the medical checks, Martín returned for the Czechia Grand Prix. Making it straight into Q2, he qualified 12th in his first weekend back. Backing up his impressive qualifying performance, he achieved his first points of the season by finishing the sprint and main races in 11th and seventh, respectively.
Whilst a crash at the Red Bull Ring would see him retire from the next race, Martín was back and growing stronger each weekend. His qualifying form was lacking, only reaching Q2 once in San Marino, but his strength in the races was showing. Despite starting lower on the grid, he was consistently making up places to finish in the points. After five races, the Aprilia Racing rider headed into his sixth race in Japan 20th in the championship with 34 points.
Unfortunately for Martín, his growing form wouldn’t continue. On the first lap of the Japanese Sprint race, after attempting a move on the inside of Fermín Aldeguer and Jack Miller, the Spaniard pushed Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco wide before colliding with his own teammate, Marco Bezzecchi. The Aprilia pair went down, and whilst both were conscious, Martín was taken to the medical centre for further evaluation. He had a displaced fracture of his right collarbone. Once again, he needed surgery and was therefore absent from the following races.
He made a final return for the closing race of the year in Valencia with a double long lap penalty to serve. After qualifying 17th, the races served more as a testing session for Martín. He finished 22nd in the sprint and pulled into the pits on Lap 15 of the feature race to retire.
Contract Disputes
Aside from the numerous injuries Martín faced in 2025, he also entered a brief contract dispute with Aprilia Racing. After Ducati Lenovo Team hired Marc Márquez to replace Enea Bastianini, Martín left the manufacturer. As a result, he joined Aprilia Racing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. This new contract featured performance clauses, and after only racing one race for them, questions were being raised over his future with the team.
Many rumours were coming out that Martín wasn’t happy with the performance of the RS-GP25 and whether he’d enact the performance clause. In May 2025, Martín shared a statement on his social media platforms about the situation. He wrote: “At no time have I ever breached the contract. When we signed it, I agreed with Aprilia that, if certain circumstances were not met, I reserved the right to decide my future for 2026.” The statement went on to share that he was open to negotiations and talks with Aprilia Racing, but that he would be leaving the team at the end of 2025.
Aprilia Racing maintained that his contract remained valid. However, in June, Martín’s manager, Albert Valera, announced that “Jorge is free of contract for next year”. He confirmed that Martín was open to sign with another team. It was rumoured that he was entering negotiations with Honda over a potential seat, but nothing was ever confirmed. However, on the 17th July, it was confirmed that he would stay with Aprilia Racing for the full contract length.
Coming into 2026
After a year of contract rumours and injuries, Martín is looking towards a more stable 2026 season. Throughout December, he required a further two revision surgeries on his hand and collarbone. Consequently, he missed the first pre-season test in Sepang. He was able to partake in the Buriram test and finished the test eighth overall with a fastest lap time of 1:29.167.
Despite missing the first test of the year, Martín seems to be back to his fighting form. The first race in Thailand saw him take double points. In Brazil, after finishing third in the sprint race, he followed the performance up in the feature race to take second. This gave him his first podium appearance with Aprilia Racing and a 1-2 finish for the team. And he only continued to improve as MotoGP headed to COTA. A last-lap move saw him take his first win since 2024, which also briefly gave him the lead of the championship.
Jorge Martín was hoping to defend his title in 2025, but a series of unfortunate events prevented that. However, he didn’t let that stop him. Despite considering retiring, Martín has returned in 2026 and is already showing why he’s a championship winner. Will his form continue to grow?