News Summary
- Jorge Martín says his right wrist has improved since Sepang, although the fracture he sustained at Phillip Island is still healing.
- The Aprilia rider is due to see MotoGP medical director Ángel Charte before Friday practice at Lusail. His participation in the sprint and Grand Prix remains unconfirmed.
- Martín trails Marc Márquez by 44 points. Scoring eight in Qatar would keep his own title bid alive even if Márquez wins both races.
Jorge Martín could barely brush his teeth when he tried to ride a MotoGP bike in Malaysia last week. By Thursday in Qatar, he could do that again. The cast was off and some of the strength had returned to his right wrist. For Martín, those were signs that a second comeback was worth attempting, even though he still had no way of knowing how the wrist would hold up over a full race weekend.
“The bone is still broken,” Martín told MotoGP’s official channel, as quoted by Crash.net. He said he and his doctors had decided to remove the cast after the lack of movement left him in pain. He put his wrist at roughly 20% in Malaysia and 50% in Qatar, his own estimate of how it felt after more treatment in Spain.
“I’ll try to be able to ride with the pain, and let’s see if I’m able to finish the weekend,” he said.
What Martín learned from the first comeback at Sepang
Martín fractured the lower end of his right radius when he crashed during the Phillip Island sprint while fighting Marc Márquez. He was back on the Aprilia six days later. In Malaysia, he completed 12 laps in FP1 and was cleared to continue after a medical review. He made it through practice, but the wrist lacked the strength he needed to race. He withdrew before qualifying and missed both the sprint and the Grand Prix.
“It was a shame not to be able to carry on with the weekend at Sepang,” Martín said in Aprilia’s Qatar preview. He went back to Spain after withdrawing and continued treatment before travelling to Lusail. His account on Thursday gave a clearer picture of what had improved. He had regained some movement and strength, but he could only find out how much that would help once he was back on the RS-GP.
Aprilia confirmed a Friday appointment with MotoGP medical director Ángel Charte at 12:15 local time, two and a half hours before FP1. Martín had been given conditional permission to take part in the opening session, with a further review required before he could continue. The Qatar weekend schedule puts the sprint on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Why eight points could keep Martín in the title fight
Martín went to Sepang just 10 points behind Márquez. While the Aprilia rider sat out both races, Márquez finished second in the sprint and won the Grand Prix, adding 34 points to his total. That left Martín 44 behind going into Qatar, with Portugal and Valencia to come.
“Only Marc can lose it or win it,” Martín said at Lusail, as reported by The Race. He still has a target of his own. If Márquez wins both races and takes all 37 points, eight for Martín would limit the damage to 29. That would leave him 73 points behind, with 74 still available after Qatar. An eighth-place finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix would deliver those eight points on its own.
Márquez must also eliminate Marco Bezzecchi’s remaining title chance to clinch at Lusail. Bezzecchi, Martín’s Aprilia teammate, starts the weekend 67 points off the lead. For Martín, the first task on Friday is to get back on the bike and see whether the strength he regained in Spain will last long enough to put any points on the board.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the Qatar Grand Prix in MotoGP.
