Jorge Martin sees MotoGP Japan as the end of his ‘pre-season’
Martin is looking to chase results as MotoGP heads to Japan
Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin is viewing this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix as the end of his ‘pre-season’ after an “extremely positive” Misano test.
The factory Aprilia rider has so far competed in just six of the 16 rounds run so far in the 2025 season, having spent much of the campaign on the sidelines battling injury.
His return from the Czech Grand Prix onwards in July has very much been about adapting to an RS-GP that has developed greatly since the start of the year.
The post-race Misano test last Monday offered Jorge Martin with a chance to focus on improving his feeling on the bike, with ergonomic changes providing him the biggest gains.
As such, he heads to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix looking to “focus on speed and performance” and move on from his “path of adaptation”.
“I’m very much looking forward to getting to Japan,” he said.
“The test in Misano was extremely positive.
“We did a lot of testing and took a nice step forward in terms of ergonomics.
“Up to now it has been a path of adaptation – almost a pre-season – but from here on out, I’d like to focus on speed and performance.
“The Misano race allowed me to get close to where I want to be, although there is still a lot of work to do.
“We need to continue to improve and that will be our obsession throughout the rest of the season.”
The highlight of Martin’s return so far remains the fourth-place finish he secured at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he came from a lowly 18th in qualifying.
Heading into the flyaway portion of the season, Aprilia will be looking to maintain its consistent frontrunning pace it has shown since winning the British Grand Prix with Marco Bezzecchi in May.
The Italian came close to a second Sunday win of the season at Misano after a tense fight with Marc Marquez.
Aprilia holds second in the constructors’ standings coming to Japan with a slender 23-point lead over KTM.
Motegi hasn’t been the best of venues for Aprilia over the years, with it a best of ninth last season with Aleix Espargaro - over 30 seconds off the lead.
In 2023, in the red-flagged wet race, Espargaro was fifth.
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