Aprilia fire back at Michelin as Jorge Martin crash dispute intensifies

Jorge Martin has undergone surgery on the injury sustained at the Sepang test - but the fallout of why he crashed continues.

The MotoGP champion heavily crashed on Wednesday, face-planting onto the asphalt, causing hand and foot injuries.

After his surgery, Aprilia have emphatically denied Michelin’s claim about what caused the incident.

Jorge Martin undergoes surgery

Martin’s surgery on his right hand was a success on Friday.

He was operated on by Dr Xavier Mir in Barcelona.

His injuries were a closed fracture of the 5th metacarpal head of the right hand and a closed fracture of the 3rd, 4th and 5th metatarsals of the left foot.

He spent one night in hospital in Malaysia before returning to Spain for surgery.

Martin’s injury to his foot did not require surgery, and his recovery time will be assessed in the coming days.

Dr Mir said: “The rider Jorge Martín has undergone surgery for a displaced fracture of the head of the right fifth metacarpal, with reduction and percutaneous fixation using an intramedullary screw.

“The functional recovery will start in a short time period, according to the clinical status.”

Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola said: “I'm glad that Jorge's operation went well and now we hope for a speedy recovery - his health is the priority.”

Aprilia v Michelin row

Aprilia boss Rivola’s initial response to Martin’s crash was to insist that there was no problem with the bike and no error from the rider.

That comment was a hint that his Michelin tyre was to blame.

But Michelin Motorsport two-wheel manager Piero Taramasso, on Friday morning, explained his belief about the cause of the crash.

“At the beginning, Massimo [Rivola] said the tyre temperature was okay, [...] but this was [surface] tyre temperature, which is very variable – it depends on the slide, the spin of the bike, Taramasso said.

“The rear temperature, the [value] we use to understand if the tyre works or not, is the inner layer temperature; for instance it’s the data coming from the McLaren sensor.”

Taramasso added: “The conclusion is clear: Jorge, when he left the box for the last run before the crash, the tyre temperature was 15 degrees less.

“So, 15 degrees is quite a lot.”

But Aprilia’s Rivola has dismissed that claim.

“Regarding the crash, I would like to make it clear that our data in no way confirms the statements made by Piero Taramasso,” Aprilia said.

“I believe that the riders' safety should be the priority, and I have already suggested him to set a meeting with all the teams in order to deal constructively with what is clearly a critical situation, as evidenced by the number of injuries.”