Jorge Martin's downward spiral continues. Already sidelined since his crash in Japan, the 2024 MotoGP World Champion will officially miss the Portuguese Grand Prix. Aprilia has confirmed that its star rider will not be at the start in Portimão, continuing his recovery from a shoulder fracture that required emergency surgery following the chaos of the Motegi sprint.
This latest retirement adds to an already disastrous year: four major injuries, barely six finishes out of twenty races contested, and no podium finishes. His best result? A fourth place in Hungary. A far cry from the flamboyant level that crowned him barely twelve months ago.
Bad luck struck him from the very beginning February, during the Sepang tests: fracture after only 13 laps. Then another training accident prevented him from starting the season. Return to Qatar ? New fall, hit by Di GiannantonioResult: weeks of rehabilitation, operations, frustrations…
Added to his physical setbacks was a contractual storm. Martin tried to break his agreement with Aprilia by invoking a performance clause. The Noale-based manufacturer threatened to take the matter to court. Ultimately, the Spaniard was forced to agree to a contract until 2026, but without ever actually seeing action this season.
Jorge Martin: Latent tension, a forced marriage, and a ruined season
To replace Martin, Aprilia should still call on its test pilot Lorenzo Savadori — even though the announcement has not yet been formally recorded. And the question remains: Martin Will he be able to ride in Valencia for the 2025 final? Will he take part in the RS-GP26 test scheduled for the following Tuesday? For now, silence reigns.
Le Portuguese Grand Prix will take place without the last two MotoGP world champions: Marc Marquez (shoulder injury in Indonesia, out until the end of the year) and Jorge Martin, therefore, still recovering.
For 10 years, we have never seen such a massacre among headliners. Two heavy absences for Aprilia et Ducati, but also for the championship MotoGP, which finds itself deprived of its best antagonists.
George Martin will have to reclaim his body before attempting to regain the summit. His 2024 title now seems so far away... And his relationship with Aprilia ?
