Martinator is back
On the day of Marco Bezzecchi’s slide, which threw away a possible Sprint victory, Jorge Martin took care of keeping the Aprilia factory team’s colors high. After experiencing a nightmare 2025, spending more time in the hospital than on the track, he has instead started this new championship in high gear. The Spaniard – still far from his 100% – started fifth and finished fifth, avoiding unnecessary risks but showing excellent adaptation to the RS-GP26, especially considering that he had missed the three-day test in Sepang and had therefore ridden the new bike – before this weekend – for only two days in the Buriram tests.
Read more Surprise sprint, the Aprilia on the podium is Fernandez’s: “But we are not fighting for the title”
“Honestly I feel much more comfortable [compared to last year] – Martin commented to Sky Sport MotoGP – I would say there is still a lot to work on regarding style, because the Aprilia is a bike that wants everything to be done calmly, with a lot of gentleness. I, on the other hand, am an aggressive rider and braking is where I still need to improve. I am happy with the consistency: I started fifth and finished fifth, but I think we can improve even more for tomorrow”.
Martin then reviewed his Sprint: “I attacked in the first two laps to try to take Raúl [Fernandez]’s third position. However, overtaking another Aprilia is difficult, because we are very similar. You need to push at some point and it’s not easy. Against other bikes, it’s easier to overtake. At a certain point, I realized there was no chance and so I maintained the pace. In the end, I let Ogura pass to try to bring up the [front tire] pressure. This is a fifth place that can be improved. The important thing now is to get the kilometers in and gain confidence. The season is very long, there will be time to take risks and to bring home victories“, he added, showing great confidence.
Read more Renault, electric is the destination. But in stages.
However, at the time of writing, an investigation into a possible irregular front tire pressure still hangs over Martin’s result. The 2024 world champion, however, does not fear sanctions: “We are 100% sure we did everything right – Martin declared – for me there was some problem. Maybe there was a lap where I went wide and hit the curb, maybe I did something to the tire there, but we are calm”.
Read more Renault, electric is the destination. But step by step.
