Championship leader, king of crashes, points-scorer: Jorge Martin will still be ‘extreme’ in 2026

The situation within Aprilia’s MotoGP works team continues to be characterised by a rollercoaster of emotions, even though Massimo Rivola’s set-up looks brilliant on paper after 22 of the 44 races in the 2026 season. Since the round in Brazil, a rider from the Noale-based factory team has been leading the World Championship. For a long time it was Marco Bezzecchi, then Jorge Martin took over – the project’s problem child.

The saga surrounding the 2024 World Champion’s move to the Aprilia camp dominated the entire previous season. Whilst Marc Márquez was running the competition ragged, MotoGP was embroiled in a scandal involving Jorge Martín, which was largely played out off the track. Even though the dilemma was eventually brought under control, it was already clear by 2025 that the partnership could not be allowed to continue beyond 2026.

Once the situation had been clarified – and the Aprilia riders’ bikes had matured into winning machines – the ‘old’ Jorge Martín made his comeback. The number 89’s performance in the first half of the MotoGP season has been impressive, though not without a few blemishes.

Jorge Martin: MotoGP-Spitzenreiter zur Halbzeit

Foto: instagram Jorge Martin

On the positive side are his consistently strong results. Martin has always been known for his sprinting ability. This was no different in 2026. In the eleven short races, he scored 64 points; only Marc Márquez was more successful overall, and only Ai Ogura finished in the top nine on more occasions. However, the Madrid-born rider owes his World Championship lead to his consistency across all races. Martin scored points in 18 out of 22 races, finishing on the podium eight times.

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By way of comparison: Marc Márquez has seven races with zero points to his name, whilst Bezzecchi has nine. Even though champion Marquez and his team-mate have each celebrated more victories, the ‘squirrel’ strategy has paid off so far – although Jorge Martin acknowledged as he left the Sachsenring: “It’s only a matter of time before Marc takes the lead again.”

World Championship leader after eleven rounds – despite 16 crashes

Remarkably, Martin’s strategy – fuelled by numerous top-five finishes – is working despite an immense crash rate. With 16 crashes, the championship leader, of all people, is also the clear frontrunner in the crash table. There’s no doubt that luck has played a part here, because despite his escapades in the gravel, Martin – unlike ‘MM93’ and ‘Bez’ – has remained free of serious injuries in 2026. Curiously, the same applies to Honda rider Joan Mir, who has gone down 15 times so far across the eleven events.

Aprilia was put to the test once again when Jorge Martin attacked the first corner too aggressively shortly after the start in Hungary. With Martin, Bezzecchi and Fernández, three RS-GP race winners were all involved. An especially bitter pill to swallow, particularly in view of the current championship standings. The experienced world champion’s major blunder at Lake Balaton was a factor that contributed to the erosion of Aprilia’s clear lead. After all, when three top riders fail to complete a full GP distance, it means not only a loss of points but also a lack of data and insights for optimisation.

Nevertheless, Aprilia went into the summer break – lasting a good three weeks – as the number one team in MotoGP. Jorge Martin has a 14-point lead over his team-mates – whilst Marc Marquez is now just four points behind the Japanese rider. The champion has overtaken both Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi. The battle is now also tight among the manufacturers. Just eleven points separate Aprilia from Ducati – thanks to, and because of, Jorge Martin.