Jorge Martin Throws in the Towel at Sepang: “Here’s Why I Decided to Stop”

No luck for the Aprilia rider: after FP2, he had to withdraw from the Malaysian GP for good. Will he be in Qatar?

Jorge Martin did everything he could to race at Sepang, but the pain and lack of strength forced him to pull out early from a crucial weekend in his bid for the 2026 MotoGP title. After FP2, Aprilia made the official announcement, making the prospect of winning the premier-class crown for the first time seem increasingly distant.

Speaking to Sky Sport MotoGP, the two-time world champion gave his account of what happened: "I tried, I gave it everything. I could already see on Friday that the situation was very complicated, but we hadn't used everything available to manage the pain, so I waited until Saturday to make a decision. I did everything I could, but my effectiveness on the bike wasn't good enough.I decided to stop; being on track was a risk for me because I didn't have 100% control over what was happening on the bike. I thought it would be impossible to complete the 20 laps of the main race, so I preferred to rest and gain an extra day to recover for Qatar".

Pain and a lack of strength were decisive factors, forcing Martin to throw in the towel: "When you lack strength, it means the pain is setting in, so you have to give up. More than anything, it was a problem with strength. It wasn't just that I was in a lot of pain; I was losing strength, and whenever something happened on the bike, I wasn't ready to react. So I decided to stop".

The Aprilia rider admitted that winning the 2026 MotoGP title now looks more difficult, but his focus is on his physical recovery: "Obviously, the championship is slipping away. I'm not thinking about it too much right now, because I want to recover, but I'm sure I'll keep trying until the very end. Not just for myself, but also for my people, my fans and my team. In life, you have to try. Things don't always go the way you want, and we have to accept that, but I'll keep trying".

Martin will return to Spain, and then it remains to be seen whether his right wrist will have recovered enough for him to take part in the Qatar Grand Prix, which is still scheduled to go ahead, although rumors continue to circulate that most riders are not entirely convinced about heading to Lusail. In the meantime, we'll have to see what happens at Sepang, where Marc Marquez can extend his championship lead over Martinator: they are currently 10 points apart, and that gap is likely to grow to more than 20 after this weekend.

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