Pit lane ban at the Pirelli test: Jorge Martin hopes for a second chance

It was more than just an eventful week for the Aprilia factory team. Rather than reporting on sporting triumphs, it was very much the crisis communications department that was in action. In Hungary, Jorge Martin had taken himself and other Aprilia riders out of the Grand Prix, whilst in Brno, Marco Bezzecchi made negative headlines with two zero-point finishes and the infamous incident involving a marshal. The best thing from Aprilia’s perspective at the last two GP events was that Bezzecchi and Martin remain at the top of the World Championship standings.

However, their previously comfortable lead has shrunk significantly. Whilst Jorge Martin has closed the gap on Bezzecchi to just eight points, Marc Márquez – after two back-to-back wins – is now only 40 points behind the championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi.

Team-mate Jorge Martin kept a low profile on arrival in the Netherlands. Ahead of the tenth GP round, the Spaniard refrained from any provocation or critical comments. Even the fact that Martin had been excluded from the 850cc test last Monday did not seem to bother the factory rider. Martin: “I knew I wouldn’t have access to the paddock on Monday. Of course, I would have been interested – but instead I had a bit of a chat with Fermin (Aldeguer). He said that the Pirelli tyres are already performing quite differently. I hope all the riders will be keen to get the chance to test them, including on the 1000cc bikes. It would simply be good to get a feel for them. Anything else would be a disadvantage ahead of the start of the new season.”

The fact that Aprilia had confirmed Pecco Bagnaia as Marco Bezzecchi’s team-mate just hours earlier also meant that Martin would be leaving at the end of the current season. There was no comment on the rider market; for Jorge Martin, the priority now is to finish the Aprilia project as well as possible – before joining the Yamaha family. It’s certainly interesting: his team-mate will then be Ai Ogura, who clearly had Martin under control at the last event in Brno and who, in the eyes of the ‘Martinator’, also ‘rides in a completely different style’.

Ahead of the races on the oldest circuit on the GP calendar, Jorge Martin is taking a realistic view of the battle against the Ducati riders, who have drawn level in recent races. “It was always going to be clear that Ducati would come back. It’s a close contest. I think that if we carry on working as we have been and improve our base even further, then I stand by what I said at the start of the year – it’s possible to fight for the podium in every race.”