How does Jorge Martin view fan backlash to Aprilia MotoGP contract dispute?

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin says he can “understand” to a point the negative public backlash he received for trying to break out of his Aprilia contract for 2026.

The Spaniard hit the headlines in May when, while still on the sidelines with injury, he made a visit to the French Grand Prix in order to inform Aprilia he wanted to activate a performance clause in his contract to break free for the 2026 season.

This began a weeks-long standoff, where Aprilia publicly stated that the contract would be honoured until the end of next year while the Jorge Martin camp repeatedly claimed he had a legal right to leave.

The dispute reached its crescendo during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, after Martin’s manager Albert Valera told the MotoGP world feed that his rider was “free of contract” for 2026.

Aprilia then threatened to escalate this to the courts.

The Martin camp is understood to have tried to push Aprilia to do so as quickly as possible, which the Italian marque declined to do, knowing that drawing out the process would only be to its benefit.

Ahead of his return to racing at the Czech Grand Prix prior to the summer break, Martin confirmed he would be staying at Aprilia for the rest of his contract.

During this dispute, Martin received a lot of backlash from fans and media alike, largely for trying to activate a performance clause about a bike he’d barely ridden in 2025 due to multiple injuries.

Speaking on this during the Czech Grand Prix weekend, Martin said: “Well, I mean, for sure fans are super important.

“Fans are the engine of our sport, of our lives. Without them it would be impossible to keep running these bikes.

“But at some point I can understand their opinion.

“But the only thing I can say I did what I thought was better for my life, for my future, and that’s it.

“I hope that some of them will come back to my side.

“But actually I don’t really look into the criticism and I just stay focused on my people and my family to be strong.”

During the British Grand Prix, a spokesperson from Aprilia told Crash.net that it wasn’t pleased to see the negative reception Martin had been getting on social media.

Following his race return at Brno, in which he was a competitive seventh from 12th on the grid, Martin said that he felt “at home” with the team.