Jorge Martin’s replacement for Portugal MotoGP round named

Aprilia will once again call up Lorenzo Savadori to deputise for the injured Jorge Martin at the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend.

Last year’s MotoGP world champion, Jorge Martin, has been absent since suffering a fractured shoulder in a collision with Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi at the start of the sprint at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Martin has been in recovery since surgery on his shoulder, with his rehabilitation going well.

However, Aprilia confirmed last week that Martin would not be participating in the penultimate round of the campaign to focus on his recovery.

As a result, it will replace him with test rider Lorenzo Savadori.

“Portimao is a fantastic and extremely particular track,” Savadori said.

“A lot of time has passed since the last time I rode here, and I can’t wait to get back onto the track.

“We’ll continue the work we began in Australia, and in Portugal we’ll keep developing the bike.

“We are coming from two positive days of private testing in Jerez, where we further advanced the development programme.”

This will be Savadori’s third race weekend in succession and his 12th of the season, with Martin having only competed in six rounds due to four major injury layoffs.

Savadori hasn’t raced at Portimao since 2022, while in 2021 he scored points in 14th at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Aprilia endured a tough weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix last time out, with its best result a 10th in the main race from Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura.

But Aprilia is expected to get back to its pre-Sepang form in Portugal, having been strong at the circuit last year.

Maverick Vinales took the marque to a sprint victory, while Marco Bezzecchi has a podium at Portimao to his credit fro 2023 when he was a VR46 Ducati rider.

“I am quite happy to be returning to Portimao,” Bezzecchi said.

“Last year, we raced here at the beginning of the season, so a lot of time has passed since we were here last.

“I like this track a lot and I am looking forward to tackling it again.

“These will be two important races. We’ll try to do a good job with the entire team and with Aprilia, have fun, and close out this season in the best possible way.”