Injured Jorge Martin was scared he might "never ride again"

The world champion and Aprilia Racing rider reveals struggles with broken hand; rival teams decline permission for Martin to test ahead of Qatar comeback

World champion Jorge Martin revealed that he was afraid he might never ride again during the lowest moments of his current injury layoff.

Martin crashed in a pre-season training ride and will not attempt to race for his new team, Aprilia, until the next (and fourth) event of the season in Qatar. He did however make his first appearance in a 2025 race paddock at the Americas GP on Thursday, where he spoke to media.

During the press session, Martin revealed more about his crash and its dark aftermath, but also mentioned that he would likely remount his RS-GP during the Qatar race weekend.

“I high-sided really, really, really fast,” said Martin of the training accident. “I was just exiting from one corner in fourth gear. For sure it's not a MotoGP bike, but it's a Supermoto that [has some performance].

“And yeah, I was already straight when I touched an outside kerb. I don't know if it was the paint or something. It was a really, really big crash. And I broke my foot again. Four bones in the foot and then three new bones in the hand. It was a really bad one.

“I was scared because I felt my hand was in a really bad situation, like never before. Normally, you start to move a little bit after the surgery. Or you start to feel [something]. But I couldn't move the left hand for two weeks. I literally had to hold my injured hand with my other hand.

“So yeah, on the mental side it was difficult. I was scared I might not ride again or something… because I was really in a bad situation.”

“But after two weeks, three weeks, I started to see the light. I knew then that in the long term it wouldn’t be a problem. It's healing well. I'm happy about how I'm recovering.

“But now for sure I don't feel at my best. I can move [the hand], but I still struggle to put any weight on it. So let's see how it is when I ride.”

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Aprilia Racing

The question of exactly when the Spaniard will brave that return to action now appears to be settled in favour of the Qatar GP weekend on 12-13 April.

The ongoing discussions around the possibility of Martin being allowed to test a MotoGP bike ahead of a race return are now over, with Aprilia’s rival manufacturers failing to unanimously approve the required change to the rules.

Martin himself says he won’t risk riding any motorcycle at all before Friday practice in Doha.

“I won't ride any bike till that moment because I don't want to have the same [happen again]. Imagine if I go training next week and I break, I don't know, my head or my neck. So yeah, I will wait until Qatar.

“Maybe I go there, I ride and I cannot continue. Or maybe I can. I don’t know how my condition will be. For sure I won't be at a hundred per cent, but I will maybe try [to race].”