Aprilia hero Martin wants to move further up the grid: “Row two is the target”

Seven days ago, Jorge Martin was forced to throw in the towel at Sepang. His recent fracture to his right wrist prevented him from consistently setting fast lap times. The outlook was so bleak that Martin decided to withdraw and return to Spain early.

Back in the MotoGP paddock, it felt as though weeks had passed – Martin came through the season opener in the desert in impressive fashion. Not only did the number 89 complete the race, but the ‘Martinator’ also clocked the seventh-fastest time in the crucial qualifying session, securing his place in Q2. Better still: Jorge Martin not only conjured up a spectacular lap, but the Madrid native was consistently in the top 10 in both FP1 and later in the one-hour qualifying session.

Aprilia hero Martin was 0.5 seconds behind world champion Marc Márquez

Martin finished the free practice session in fifth place, 0.7 seconds behind leader Marc Marquez. In qualifying, Martin finished seventh, 0.6 seconds behind Fabio Di Giannantonio. Just half a second behind ‘MM93’, the World Championship contender exceeded his target for the day and, for the time being, held his own valiantly in the World Championship race.

But nothing was handed to Jorge Martin on a plate. The Aprilia works rider said: “It’s a shame I didn’t feel as good in Malaysia as I do today. It’s much better now. Even though there’s still some pain, I can ride – and do so for several laps at a time. It was even harder at the start, especially under braking; I had to open the throttle a few times and ride wide. I simply lacked the strength there. But that improved too – and if I can boost my strength a bit more on Saturday, then I’m confident for Sunday as well.”

Martin on the core issue: “The hardest part is the time trials; that’s where it really counts. Because of that, I lost a bit of time even on my fastest laps, but it was good enough to reach Q2. I reckon that, if everything goes well, I can secure a place on the second row in Q2.”

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Lusail: International Livestream

MotoGP World Championship

07.11.2026 - 10:25

Jorge Martin is determined to score World Championship points

If Martin pulls off another miracle, his chances of scoring World Championship points in Qatar remain intact. As a reminder: if the runner-up in the World Championship manages to score a total of eight points across both races, the decision on the World Championship title will be postponed.

Martin in Losail on the subject of the ‘championship battle’: ‘To be honest, it’s impossible to make any predictions here – I just don’t know. It’s special just to be here, and simply finishing the races is a major goal in itself. Nevertheless, I’ll try to score as many points as possible. So I’m just focusing on myself – and I’m not thinking about the World Championship right now.”

The situation at Losail is full of suspense following qualifying. Both the Aprilia stars and the Ducati factory riders are right up there at the top. All four Aprilia riders made it straight through to the second qualifying session – yet, ahead of Q2, two Ducati riders, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Márquez, sit right at the top. Martin’s pit neighbour, Marco Bezzecchi, led the RS-GP quartet in third place.

Tapfer und schnell: Jorge Martin

Foto: Gold and Goose Photography