Jorge Martin deserves “sympathy”, to be a champion “you need ego”

Jorge Martin warrants some sympathy and understanding amid the criticism for his attempt to quit Aprilia, it has been claimed.

Reigning champion Martin is making his welcome comeback from injury this weekend at the Czech MotoGP in Brno.

He used the opportunity to insist he would be staying at Aprilia in 2026, despite attempting to engineer a move away during his enforced absence due to injury.

However, his refusal to apologise to his employers for attempting to use a contractual clause to leave a year earlier than expected has been met by some criticism.

Jorge Martin deserves some 'sympathy'

But Dorna paddock reporter Jack Appleyard has offered a different perspective, noting that Martin only recently went through a gruelling recovery from lung damage sustained in his most recent MotoGP outing.

“It was interesting how he described: ‘No-one knows the position I was in, no-one understands how dark of a place it was’,” Appleyard argued.

“I know he gets criticism for the decisions that he tried to make in the past couple of months. Maybe it came from ill advice, who knows, maybe in time he will open up about it.

“But it’s worth giving him a little bit of sympathy as well.

“In the position he was in, he says there was a valid clause there. It’s very easy for people at home, people in the garage, people in the paddock to say ‘look at the Aprilia, you will be fast, you will feel comfortable’.

“But Jorge is a world champion and to be a world champion you need ego, and confidence in yourself, to say ‘no-one can tell me how I feel, I need to try it myself’.

“Which is why he went to Aprilia to ask for an extension on that clause. “Aprilia said no, we won’t give you a chance to try it for yourself. It put his back up a bit. He’s got arrogance and swagger to say ‘no-one can tell me, I need to work it out myself’.

“I can understand why he got frustrated and why decisions were made as a result.”

Martin gathered his Aprilia colleagues on Thursday, before his first practice session at Brno, to rally the troops ahead of his comeback.

He missed the start of the season due to injuries from pre-season testing. His first and only MotoGP until Brno was in Qatar, where a big crash sidelined Martin again.

Sunday will be Martin’s second grand prix in Aprilia colours since winning the 2024 MotoGP title at Pramac Ducati.

Jorge Martin ‘lost weight, as fit as I’ve seen him’

Jorge Martin has been training on a bicycle, as well as benefitting from a rule change enabling him to test his MotoGP bike before the Czech round.

“One thing I noticed is just how strong his face looks. He has clearly lost a lot of weight in his face,” Appleyard spotted.

“He has done a ridiculous amount of cycling in the past five weeks. He has a great training partner in Aleix Espargaro who is now a professional cyclist.

“He is basically being towed around by Aleix. You can tell, just by his general demeanour and general figure.

“He’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him. He’s very, very slim and raring to go. He’s at 100% fitness for the first time since the start of the year.

“When he returned in Qatar he was struggling with a hand injury but battled through.”