Career-threatening injuries: How setbacks affect MotoGP stars

Jorge Martín, Marc Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi. Three riders, three different stories. And yet they share the same experience: injuries have not only left their mark on them physically, but have also changed them as people.

Aprilia rider Jorge Martín knows how quickly everything can change. After several serious injuries and a further setback during his comeback in Qatar in 2025, the Madrid-born rider fought his way back to the top of MotoGP, step by step. When SPEEDWEEK.com spoke to him at the Sachsenring about this period, Martín didn’t start by talking about pain or title races – but about what those months had done to him. “You learn far more from the bad times than from the good ones. It’s only the difficult times that show you who you really are. That’s when you learn how to get back on your feet.”

For the Spaniard, injuries have therefore long been more than just physical setbacks. They’ve shown him which people are truly by his side. “My circle has got smaller – but stronger as a result. I’ve never regretted what happened. I always try to take the positives with me. It’s precisely in the bad moments that you can grow as a person.”

I came close to not being here anymore.

Jorge Martín on his Qatar crash

These are unusual words in a sport where the talk is usually of tenths of a second, tyres or set-up. Instead, Martín talks about trust, friendships and personal development. His outlook on life has also changed. “I’ve learnt that the past is history. The future is a mystery. That’s why you have to live in the present and try to enjoy the moment.” This realisation, says Martín, has a lot to do with his serious crash in Qatar last year. “I came very close to not being here anymore. That’s why I’m much more aware of the present today.”

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Jorge Martin (li.) mit Autorin Doreen Müller-Uhlig

Foto: Claudia Thiem

He therefore doesn’t attribute the fact that he’s back at the top of the World Championship today to motivation alone. “There are plenty of days when I don’t feel like training. But there’s no Plan B.” Discipline, he says, is more important today than euphoria. And perhaps that is precisely the biggest difference compared to the young Jorge Martín: he now enjoys the journey back just as much as the success itself.

Experience over risk

The fact that serious injuries change not only the body but also the mindset is evident not only in Jorge Martín. Hardly any rider has paid such a painful price for a premature comeback as eight-time world champion Marc Márquez. After breaking his upper arm in Jerez in 2020, the Spaniard returned to the bike unusually early. This was followed by months of suffering, including a total of four operations on his right upper arm, before he managed to return to the very top of the world rankings. Today, the same rider no longer talks about taking unlimited risks, but about patience. A thought from his great role model, Rafael Nadal, has left a lasting impression on him. “When you’re not feeling well, your 100 per cent is simply different from what it is on good days. The key is to still give your own 100 per cent every day. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” As a result, his approach to training has changed fundamentally. “I used to ignore rest days. Now I have to pace myself differently. If I manage my workload better, I’ll actually improve more in the long run.”

At some point, you realise that you only have one body.

Jorge Martín

These are thoughts that suit Jorge Martín remarkably well. When asked whether the same fire still burns within him today as it did at the start of his career, the World Championship leader replies without hesitation: “No, it’s not the same anymore. As a young rider, you just want to go full throttle. Nowadays, I draw much more on my experience. At some point, you realise that you only have one body. That’s why, after every crash, I try to work out why it happened – and not make the same mistake again.”

Both riders are thus describing the same development. Not less ambition. But more experience. Speed today no longer comes solely from courage, but from the ability to understand one’s own body – and to respect its limits.

Marco Bezzecchi schmiss seine Aprilia dieses Jahr schon öfter weg

Foto: gold & goose

The battle continues

Whilst Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez can now look back on their most severe setbacks with some distance, Marco Bezzecchi is right in the middle of this process right now.

Following his heavy crash at Assen, the Aprilia rider travelled to the Sachsenring, though he was barely able to train beforehand. As early as Thursday, he made it clear that normal sporting goals were out of the question for the time being.

On Friday, despite the pain, Bezzecchi fought his way straight into Q2. Physically, he said, the weekend was just as tough as expected. “Mentally, it’s not that bad. Physically, it’s much harder.” But hopes of a redeeming race weekend didn’t last long. In qualifying, the Italian lost control of his Aprilia at Turn 1 and crashed heavily. Diagnosis: a broken left collarbone. Bezzecchi underwent successful surgery in Italy that very weekend. Once again, the race against time began – with the aim of getting back on the bike as quickly as possible.

It is precisely this cycle that Márquez and Martín know from their own experience: injury. Comeback. Setback. A fresh start.

More than just comebacks

What Jorge Martín, Marc Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi have in common is not their injuries, but what they have made of them. Martín sums up this development in a single sentence: “You learn far more from the bad moments than from the good ones.” He says this almost in passing. Perhaps this explains better than any statistic why some riders keep coming back time and again. It’s not the setbacks that determine who becomes a champion – it’s the journey back.