In a medical scenario that typically requires four to six weeks of immobilization with a cast, MotoGP rider Jorge Martín has made an extraordinary decision to compete while suffering from a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius in his right forearm. Just six days after sustaining the injury during a crash at Phillip Island, the 28-year-old Spanish rider completed 15 laps on Friday at the Sepang circuit. Riding his Aprilia RS-GP, which weighs over 160 kilograms and produces more than 250 horsepower, Martín reached speeds of 336 km/h before retiring early to the garage without attempting to attack the stopwatch.
The Madrid-born rider's participation is driven by a tight championship battle. With 148 points remaining in the season, he trails current leader Marc Márquez by only 10 points. Despite the severe nature of his injury, which affects the hand controlling both the throttle and front brake, Martín received medical clearance from doctor Ángel Charte on Thursday to attempt a morning practice session. During this initial outing, he completed 13 laps, finishing nearly two seconds slower than Márquez, who topped both training sessions. Martín noted to the race doctor that while his condition was better than expected, he lacked braking strength but hoped to adapt gradually.
During the afternoon practice session, Martín adopted a highly conservative approach following a near-crash incident. He completed only three additional laps before ending his day after just 12 minutes of action to preserve his physical condition and allow his bruised arm some rest. His final lap time of 1:59.670 placed him 20th, more than two and a half seconds off Márquez's best time of 1:57.000. Paolo Bonora, Aprilia's team principal, confirmed that the decision to stop was made collectively with the medical staff after Martín struggled to control the bike during braking, noting that he cannot currently deliver maximum effort for a single lap.
To prepare for this attempt, Martín worked intensively with two physiotherapists over the past week. He modified his glove to be looser and utilized a restrictive bandage rather than full immobilization, taking only minimal anti-inflammatory medication. His primary goal was to assess the level of pain and limitation imposed by the injury in hopes of scoring points in Saturday's and Sunday's races. This incident adds to Martín's difficult injury history since joining Aprilia last season; he has missed 16 Grand Prix events, representing 40% of the scheduled races. His record includes five serious accidents, including a traumatic pneumothorax and over a dozen broken ribs from an incident in Qatar in April 2025, which required eight days in intensive care.
Massimo Rivola, Aprilia's top executive, expressed hope that the team's story would end with Martín at full physical capacity, acknowledging the rider's incredible performance in Australia despite recent bad luck. Meanwhile, Márquez, who is seeking his eighth title, commented on the risks of returning too soon, drawing parallels to his own struggles with a right arm injury in 2020. The reigning champion stated that if the fracture is complete, Martín has already done too much, but emphasized his focus on securing the championship by aiming for the maximum possible points.
Sources: El País Deportes.