Jorge Martin sends a message to Aprilia: "Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot"

Rivola publicly put him under fire after the incident in Hungary, but the Spanish rider prefers not to add more fuel to the fire.

It’s been less than two weeks since the strike Jorge Martin made at the start of the MotoGP race at Balaton Park Circuit, and it’s inevitable that it’s being discussed again in Brno. Aprilia hadn’t made either him or Marco Bezzecchi available to the media, to avoid any potentially “awkward” statements, but Massimo Rivola stepped in to speak, highlighting the Spaniard’s responsibility in the incident and that that mistake was not worthy of a world champion. The person involved had the chance to apologize both privately and on social media, but there was some tension within the Noale team, and this race weekend in the Czech Republic will tell us whether it’s all been put to bed or not. Remember that Martinator will have to serve two long lap penalties because of what happened in the last GP.

In Brno, the two-time world champion once again took the opportunity to apologize to the riders and teams involved in the incident he caused, also emphasizing that he wants to learn from his mistakes and then explaining what exactly happened at Turn 1 at Balaton Park: "I didn’t do anything strange. As soon as I touched the brake,” reports Motosan, I lost the front, so I rolled off a bit. In that first-gear corner, as soon as I slowed, I was going much faster than the others. I tried to brake again and lost the front a bit more, until I completely lost control. I hoped I could recover it, but it was impossible."

Turn 1 was one of the spots where the asphalt had been resurfaced, and practically all the riders said there was little grip. That’s exactly why you had to be extra careful. Clearly, Martin made a mistake, but the incident won’t change his approach for future starts: "I won’t lose my instinct or my hunger for victory. I’ll try to keep overtaking as many riders as possible at the first corner, because it’s in my nature. The day I lose that trait, I’ll stay home."

The Madrid-born rider also had the chance to comment on what Rivola said in Hungary: "That’s his opinion; everyone has their own. I’m the first one who doesn’t want to crash or involve others. I’m really sorry for the teams. I just want to learn from this mistake. This is racing: sometimes it happens to me, sometimes it happens to other riders. The important thing is to learn, and luckily nothing serious happened."

Martin believes it’s crucial for the Aprilia team to be united, moving past everything that happened at Balaton Park and focusing on the upcoming challenges of the 2026 MotoGP season: "I think it’s time to be more united than ever. If we’re against each other, it’s like shooting ourselves in the foot; it makes no sense. We need to be smart. I will be. I spoke with Marco twice after the race. It was tough in that moment. Today I spoke with Massimo and we’re on the same wavelength. Now everything is moving in the same direction."

The parties have cleared the air and are looking ahead, aware that they must not waste energy, because there’s competition ready to take advantage. Above all, a certain Marc Marquez.

Martinator arrives in Brno second in the overall standings, 20 points behind Bezzecchi. His race will inevitably be affected by the two long laps, which he’ll already practice on Friday to also help clean that part of the track a bit.