Jorge Martin: "I wish a rider wouldn’t win

A 2025 to forget for Jorge Martin, the 2024 MotoGP world champion. After ending his relationship with Ducati and Pramac, he began his adventure with Aprilia in the worst possible way. On February 5, during the first day of testing, he crashed and suffered a broken hand. On February 24 he sustained another training injury; in Qatar he suffered fractures to eleven ribs and a pneumothorax. He missed many races, returned at Brno, got hurt again at Motegi. He came back for the final round in Valencia, hoping that 2026 will be a better year.

The worst season of his racing career: staying home as the reigning champion, focusing only on post-injury rehabilitation. A situation that severely tested him psychologically as well, to the point that he had decided to terminate the contract with Noale and sign with Honda. But in the end, Jorge Martin had to backtrack and apologize, even if it’s understandable.

Any rider could have been afraid to get back on the same bike. "More than fear, I had doubts. Every time I got on the bike, I crashed and didn’t really understand why. But when I came back, I gradually improved and regained confidence. Many factors contributed to this season, but I don’t blame the bike," explained the rider from San Sebastián de los Reyes.

He could have considered retiring after such a difficult year. But that wasn’t the case for the ‘Martinator.’ "No. I had doubts about how I would recover from the injury, but I never thought about quitting. Everything I did this year was to get back on the bike. Retiring never crossed my mind... Sometimes you’d rather a rider didn’t win, for personal reasons, but generally there’s nothing you can do. I have to admit I didn’t even watch many races; I simply didn’t feel like it. I needed to unplug from bikes."

The number 1 didn’t bring him luck this MotoGP season. "This year it didn’t define me, because I couldn’t ride the way I wanted. I think it brings extra pressure, but it’s not a curse. Pecco [Bagnaia] won with the number 1. The fact is that in recent decades no one has repeated as champion with that number. But no, I don’t think it’s a curse. I’m a bit superstitious, but I’m coming to terms with it."