Jorge Martin is not throwing in the towel. A week after being forced to retire in Malaysia, the Aprilia rider will try to take to the track at the Qatar GP, although he admits he has no idea how his body will respond.
It is almost a gamble he has no choice but to take: at Lusail, Marc Marquez will have his first chance to clinch the MotoGP World Championship, and for the Spaniard, showing up is the only way to keep the title race alive, at least on paper.
From the Phillip Island crash to his Sepang withdrawal
The problem dates back to the Phillip Island Sprint, where Martin fractured the radius in his right arm. Just a few days later, he still tried to race at Sepang: he got on the bike on Friday, but then withdrew on Saturday before qualifying. His recovery had gone better than expected, but his arm was not yet ready to cope with two races. So, on Saturday evening, he boarded a flight home.
Back in Spain, he continued his treatment with one goal: to arrive in Qatar in the best possible condition. However, clearance is not guaranteed. The doctors will have to give the Aprilia rider the green light on Thursday. And even if he is cleared, doubts remain: Martin is not even sure he will be able to complete the weekend, let alone score points. "It was a shame not to be able to continue the weekend in Sepang, but just having the chance to try was already an achievement. I returned to Spain to continue the treatment needed to recover from the injury and arrive in Qatar in the best possible condition. Now we’ll see how my body responds, and starting this Thursday, we’ll work with Aprilia to find out how far we can push."
Marquez on the verge of the title
The reason for all this urgency is clear from the standings. Marquez took advantage of his rival’s absence at Sepang and now holds a 44-point lead. To celebrate the title as early as Sunday, the Ducati rider will need to score 30 more points than Martin and 8 more than Marco Bezzecchi. Given Jorge’s condition, that does not seem impossible, but the Spaniard wants to fight for even the slimmest of chances right to the end.
Lusail could also end up hosting a severely depleted grid, with some riders injured, others in doubt, and Yamaha absent after choosing not to make the trip.
Bezzecchi looking to bounce back
Aprilia’s other rider also arrives in Qatar with something to make up for. In Malaysia, Bezzecchi finished third in the Sprint, but slipped to sixth on Sunday after a mistake on the final lap, in a race where he struggled not only against Marquez but also against Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez and Ai Ogura, who rides the same bike. The rider from Rimini, as reported by Crash.net, admitted that the Sepang Grand Prix was not easy and said he was determined to make amends at a track he likes a lot.
His stated goal is to get off to a strong start on Friday and put together a good weekend before the series returns to Europe. Thursday will be a day of reckoning for Aprilia: first Martin’s medical examination, then the track.
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