Jorge Martin’s first words after Balaton MotoGP crash: “I lost control”

Jorge Martin has apologised after triggering the five-rider accident that overshadowed the start of Sunday's Hungarian MotoGP.

The Aprilia rider lost control under braking into Turn 1 and collided with championship-leading team-mate Marco Bezzecchi.

Fermin Aldeguer, Fabio di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez were also collected in the incident.

All five riders fortunately escaped serious injury, but the incident cost Aprilia heavily in terms of points, while Martin was handed a double long-lap penalty by the FIM MotoGP Stewards.

“I want to apologise”

Martin, like Bezzecchi, did not speak to the media after the race but addressed the incident in a statement (translated below) released via social media:

"I want to apologise to all my fellow riders involved in today's incident during the first lap of the race.

"I lost control of my bike, and unfortunately, that caused a multi-rider crash that I couldn't avoid. Most importantly, thank God, we are all okay. In situations like this, that's all that really matters.

"I am so sorry for the impact this accident may have had on them, their teams, and their careers. You never want to be involved in a situation like this.

"Thank you for all the messages of support, for your understanding, and for the respect you showed me today."

Martin was involved in a similar incident with team-mate Bezzecchi at the start of last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Spaniard suffered a badly broken collarbone in that incident, then had to serve a double long lap on his Valencia return.

Past offences are cleared at the start of each season, meaning Sunday’s mistake counted as a ‘first offence’.

Meanwhile, Ducati's reigning champion Marc Marquez completed a double victory in Hungary to slash 30-points from Bezzecchi's title lead and move 33-points closer to Martin in second.