World Championship lead lost, Jorge Martin left behind: Aprilia star caught off guard

In the first Grand Prix of the year on Italian soil, held on 31 May at Mugello, Aprilia celebrated a one-two finish with Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, whilst Ducati factory rider Pecco Bagnaia further delighted the Tifosi by finishing third.

Following Bezzecchi’s record-breaking pole position on Saturday, expectations were high at Aprilia and amongst the fans, but defending champion Marc Márquez (Ducati) stole the show right from the Sprint race. In the Grand Prix, ‘Bez’ made the most of his pole position and took the lead, but a slip meant he didn’t even last a single lap. This left Aprilia’s hopes pinned on Jorge Martin, who, heading into the Misano weekend, held a 19-point lead over Marc Marquez at the top of the World Championship standings.

Marc Marquez led for the first six laps, then Martin took the lead for five laps. He managed to stay in the leading trio – which also included Alex Marquez – until halfway through the 27-lap race. From then on, things went downhill for the 2024 world champion; by the time the chequered flag fell, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) and Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) had also overtaken him – leaving him in fifth place.

Willkommen zum Rennen in San Marino

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Marc Márquez

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Start des Rennens

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Alex Márquez und Jorge Martin

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Fabio Quartararo

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Luca Marini

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Enea Bastianini

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Jorge Martin

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Marc Márquez

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Pedro Acosta und Alex Márquez

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Fabio Di Gannantonio

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Raul Fernandez

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Alex Márquez, Marc Márquez, Pedro Acosta

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen in San Marino

© Gold & Goose

By securing the maximum 37 points at Misano, Marc Marquez picked up exactly 19 more than Martin; with 274 points, the pair are now level on points. However, as Marquez has more race wins to his name, he is listed as the World Championship leader.

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Jorge Martin: “Beyond our control”

“I had a lot of trouble with arm pump,” explained Martin. “We missed a great opportunity. My pace was good and I was even able to pull away from Marc without pushing like mad. Then I started finding it harder and harder to brake, then to accelerate – it just got worse and worse and I lost control of my bike. It’s a shame; this has only just started happening. And I’ve hardly any time to recover before Austria; there’s nothing I can do. After Austria, we’ll have to work out what to do – whether I need an operation. Things like this are beyond our control.”

I don’t want to lose my chance to fight for the World Championship title.

Jorge Martín

“I really enjoyed the first few laps; it was so great battling with Marc and overtaking him,” Martin emphasised. “I’d had arm pump before in 2019 and had surgery back then. I’ve never had any problems since. But I also know from other riders that the problems came back years later and they had to have surgery again. Perhaps that’s the case for me too. Before I make any decisions, I need to seek medical advice first and see how long I’ll need to recover. The races are coming thick and fast now, and I don’t want to lose my chance to fight for the World Championship title – I feel ready.”