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World Championship leader Jorge Martin, despite problems and a 5th-place finish: “Better than expected!”

Aragon is one of Jorge Martin’s trickier circuits. This was confirmed on Saturday when the Aprilia rider was unable to keep up with his World Championship rivals Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi in the sprint race.

MotoGP

29.08.2026 - 18:35

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

WM-Leader Jorge Martin wurde im Aragon-Sprint Fünfter
© Gold and Goose

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The overall leader in the World Championship standings lost points to his closest rivals and finished well adrift of the podium places. Yet what most of the field would see as a disappointment, unlike Jorge Martin, comes as no surprise to the Aprilia rider himself. On the contrary: “Fifth place in the sprint race is a better result than I would have expected!” After all, it had been a “difficult weekend so far”: fifth on the grid and fifth at the finish line in the sprint race on Saturday were the 28-year-old’s best results so far at this year’s Aragon event.

As early as Friday, following the qualifying session, the Spaniard had reported that his riding style, combined with the tyres available, was causing him problems on the Spanish circuit. Problems that continued on Saturday: “It feels as though I’m just sliding around. I’m not enjoying riding the bike here. But I’ll have to deal with it.” He has not yet adapted to the track conditions, according to the 2024 MotoGP World Champion. The prospect of Sunday’s Grand Prix gives the rider with number 89 cause for hope.

He expects to be at a lesser disadvantage over the longer distance of the Grand Prix. Overtaking manoeuvres are difficult, however, and not just because of the external conditions: “Overtaking an opponent on this circuit is difficult. With our current motorbikes and the aerodynamic characteristics they bring, there are certainly opportunities, but if you’re only slightly faster than the rider in front, you have to take big risks to gain a place.”

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Kampf um Platz 4: Jorge Martin gegen Pedro Acosta
© Gold and Goose

These are risks for which Martin needs confidence in his machine, but this is not a problem. The Madrid native sees himself in a similarly strong position to that at the previous race weekend at Silverstone. His results on the English circuit: victory in the Sprint race and second place in the Grand Prix. “I need to improve my own riding when tyre grip starts to fade, but our motorbike is working brilliantly. We haven’t changed anything since England, and with the same set-up we’re on a par with our rivals here too.”

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Despite finishing fifth in the sprint race, Jorge Martin leads the World Championship standings ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix in Aragon, 29 points clear of his team-mate Bezzecchi. Sprint winner Marc Marquez follows a further four points behind.

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