Jorge Martin (Aprilia) is puzzled: this could cost him the world title

In 2019, Jorge Martin underwent surgery for arm pump; seven years on, the pain has returned. The former MotoGP World Champion is considering how to manage this within the tightly packed calendar.

Ivo Schützbach

MotoGP

14.09.2026 - 19:44

This article is an automatically generated English version. The Original Article was published in German.

Jorge Martin hat noch keinen Plan, wie es weitergeht
© gold & goose

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Jorge Martin

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Including Misano, the Grand Prix riders have nine events over the next twelve weekends leading up to the season finale in Valencia at the end of November – provided the races in Qatar go ahead, which is highly doubtful. Anyone who suffers health problems in the second half of the season will have hardly any time to recover.

Aprilia works rider Jorge Martin was already complaining of arm pump in Misano on Friday, and by Sunday’s Grand Prix it had become so severe that the 2024 World Champion was overtaken from the lead all the way down to fifth place, thereby not only losing a podium finish but also having to relinquish the World Championship lead to Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo).

Compartment syndrome is a kind of occupational illness among motorbike racers. The muscle fasciae in the forearms swell due to repeated intense strain during acceleration and braking, without having sufficient time to recover during the race. This causes not only pain but also numbness, tingling and a feeling of tightness, making it difficult for the rider to move his hand and fingers. Surgery to widen the fasciae provides relief.

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Mentioned in this article

Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin has already had surgery once

“I had arm pump back in 2019 and had surgery for it then,” Martin explained after the Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera Rimini. “I haven’t had any problems since then. But I know from other riders that the problems returned years later and they had to have another operation. I’ve got the pace, the bike and the team; I feel ready for the World Championship title – nothing’s missing. But now there are questions about my arm. I don’t think I’ll have any problems in Austria; that’ll be a good test. If I don’t have any difficulties there, we can carry on and put the matter behind us. If the problems resurface, they might cost me the championship. Or maybe not – I don’t know. I hope that my excellent medical team will assess the situation correctly and can help me hold out until the end of the season.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in San Marino

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On Friday and Saturday, Martin managed to cope reasonably well with the pain in his forearm; on Sunday, he tried to work around it and ride as gently as possible. The 28-year-old noted that many riders struggle with arm pump on the Misano World Circuit. “At one point I couldn’t do anything at all and everyone was overtaking me, ”he said, summarising the second half of his race. “I couldn’t twist the throttle properly anymore. Misano was one of the tracks where I could have gone on the attack and where I was prepared to take risks to win. Then the problem cropped up. However, there are still a few tracks coming up where our bike will be extremely fast and where I feel very competitive. Everything will depend on how I get through the coming weeks and whether we can sort out the problem. Marc is performing at an astonishing level; hopefully I can fight back.”

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