Jorge Martin’s key attribute that could offset his delayed Aprilia MotoGP adaptation

One of the clear examples of how quickly things can change in motorcycle racing in 2025 was delivered by reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Martin, who crashed himself out of testing with fractures in his left foot and right hand on the first day of the official Sepang test back at the beginning of February.

For TNT Sports MotoGP presenter Neil Hodgson, Martin’s injury has been a blow not only to himself and Aprilia, but also to this year’s championship.

“I feel slightly robbed with what’s happened with Jorge Martin, crashing so early in the preseason test,” Hodgson admitted in an interview with Crash.net.

“So, he’s ended up in a situation with zero data, zero experience riding that Aprilia; the only good news is the Aprilia looks good in the hands of Marco Bezzecchi, who’s obviously super-talented as well.”

The fast-paced nature of MotoGP weekends in the current era of segmented qualifying and Sprint races means that it will be difficult for Martin to make the adaptation to the RS-GP in-season with the same kind of speed as he might have managed during off-season testing.

“It’s tough because the race weekends go so quick, and before you know it you’ve got to try and get yourself into Q2, you’ve got to get that all-important top-10 [in Practice], so there’s a lot of pressure on that,” Hodgson explained.

Jorge Martin tipped to overcome MotoGP setback

The 2003 World Superbike Champion added that Martin has at least one characteristic that could help him in this regard, however.

“One thing on his side that’s positive is that he’s already very natural at doing a fast lap time – all through his career,” Hodgson said.

“Some riders aren’t as good when you put a soft tyre in and you’ve got to really focus on that perfect lap, some riders find it difficult, but he’s always been incredible at it.

“But it’s probably going to take a while [to adapt to the Aprilia].

“One of the things that I feel sorry for him ever so slightly is, because he’s missed all the testing, any development of the new bike will have gone in the direction of the feedback of Bezzecchi.

“So, sometimes teammates like a different feel; sometimes they don’t, sometimes they like the bike set very similar, I know some teammates I had where we were polar opposite ends of the scale.

“So, he’s also got that to factor into it; he’s got to hope that, when he jumps on the bike in Buriram, the base setting that Bezzecchi’s got the bike at will work for [him]. If it does, that will help him shortcut the process of getting really comfortable with the bike.”

Watch all the action from the 2025 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+ starting with the Thailand Grand Prix on Friday 28th February. TNT Sports and discovery+ is the home of motorbikes with coverage of every race from MotoGP, FIM World Superbikes, Bennetts British Superbikes and FIM Speedway GP. Follow @tntsportsbikes to keep up with all the action on social.