Jorge Martin told what he must do for Aprilia to “forgive and forget”

Jorge Martin has been advised of what he must deliver to bring an end to his dispute with Aprilia.

Reigning champion Martin returns from injury at this weekend’s Czech MotoGP at Brno, for what will be only his second grand prix for Aprilia.

Yet he has already been embroiled in a saga after claiming he planned to activate a contractual clause to exit the manufacturer next year. Aprilia warned they would fight the matter in court.

Martin will face the media in a special press conference on Thursday where he is likely to clarify his latest stance, after reports in Spain claimed he would U-turn and remain at Aprilia for 2026.

But to consign the disagreement to history, Martin has been reminded that there is only one way.

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“It’s about results,” Peter McLaren told the Crash MotoGP podcast. “If Martin wins races, everything will be forgiven and forgotten and nobody will care. But he has to do that.

“If you win in MotoGP you can get away with a lot of things.

“He’s in a situation where that’s what he needs. Aprilia have shown they’ve got a competitive bike.

“He now needs to bring his side to it - not in Brno, but by the end of the year - that ‘I can win on this bike, this is why you signed me’.

“He needs to show that now more than ever. This whole situation, which feels unnecessary, has not been great for him.

“He needs to deliver more than ever.”

Jorge Martin has been plagued by injury since winning the 2024 MotoGP title with Pramac Ducati.

But he has recently tested his Aprilia, as part of a new rule allowing injured riders some lap time before they race again.

In his time away, teammate Marco Bezzecchi has won the British MotoGP, claimed a podium at Assen, and led the package’s development.

“There is a lot of bridge building,” Peter McLaren said about Martin and Aprilia.

“When people look back in years to come they will say ‘the reigning champion left Ducati to go to the second-best manufacturer, then wanted to leave before he’d even done a handful of races, while his teammate was regularly fighting for the podium in wet and dry…’

“It just won’t make sense.”

Jorge Martin must ‘swallow his pride’

Martin has been reminded that he faces a difficult comeback because of a political furore of his own making.

“It’s a victory for Aprilia, in a sense. But they have a rider who doesn’t want to be there and will sign a contract for 2027 as soon as he can, I would imagine,” Lewis Duncan told the podcast.

“Unless something dramatic happens, [he sees] the Aprilia is brilliant and he could win a championship on it.

“They have to put this behind them. Martin, especially, has to put it behind him and say ‘I am here, I will go for it…’

“It is a long process to get to where everything is harmonious.

“I wouldn’t consider this to be a reconciliation. It is a defeat for Martin.

“He must swallow his pride and ride the Aprilia as hard as he can, and risk as he would, and show respect to the manufacturer.

“That then leaves the door open, if results aren’t good over the next year and a half, for people to say ‘he isn’t pushing, he wants to race for Honda’.

“He has put himself in an unpleasant situation wholly of his own making. He made a bet and lost it.

“The next couple of years are defining for his career as a world champion. If he doesn’t find results on this bike, then goes somewhere else and doesn’t find results, then the footnote of his career will be ‘he imploded by behaving in a manner unbefitting of a world champion’.”