“Important” return to scene of MotoGP title win coming for Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin believes this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix and the return to the scene of his MotoGP title win will be “important” in continuing his adaptation to the Aprilia.

The Spaniard made history last year at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the Solidarity Grand Prix when he became the first satellite rider to win the MotoGP title.

A few days later, Barcelona also acted as the backdrop to his debut ride on the factory Aprilia during the post-race test.

Since that weekend last November, Jorge Martin has gone through numerous injury battles, as well as a contract dispute with Aprilia before returning to race action full-time at the Czech Grand Prix.

Last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix marked a major step for Martin, who came from 16th on the grid to fourth on the Sunday with pace good enough to challenge for the podium.

Now coming to a track where he has prior Aprilia knowledge, albeit on a bike that has developed significantly since that point, he views the Catalan Grand Prix as “important” in his continued progress.

“I can’t wait to get to Barcelona,” he said.

“I have many fond memories from last year.

“This is a track that I really like, where I have always done well in recent years.

“I’m beginning to feel more comfortable on the bike now, and I think that this will be an important race for continuing to build confidence, gain familiarity with the bike, and carry on with our path following the same approach we had in Balaton.”

Aprilia comes to the 15th round of the season off the back of a consistent podium haul since Marco Bezzecchi won the British Grand Prix at the end of May.

Since then, Bezzecchi has stood on the rostrum at Assen, was laps away from another at the Sachsenring before a crash, and is now on a run of three podiums since Brno.

All of this has kept Aprilia second in the standings, while recently championship leader Marc Marquez admitted he is wary about the Italian brand’s growing threat.

The factory Aprilia squad will have three riders present this weekend, as tester Lorenzo Savadori makes a wildcard appearance alongside Martin and Bezzecchi.