Jorge Martin set for crucial injury evaluation as Austria MotoGP looms
Jorge Martin is due to have an arm pump issue looked at this week
Joint MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin is due to undergo an evaluation on arm pump this weekend ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix to determine if surgery is necessary.
The 2024 world champion looked set to win the San Marino Grand Prix last Sunday at Misano, before arm pump saw him fade to fifth.
This allowed Marc Marquez to win his fifth grand prix of the season to take the lead in the standings, with the Ducati rider now level on 274 points with Jorge Martin.
According to Motorsport, Martin will have his arm pump situation assessed by medical professionals on Wednesday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
This will ultimately determine the correct course of treatment and whether or not he will need to undergo surgery at a critical point in the title battle.
“Misano did not go exactly as we expected,” Martin said in Aprilia’s preview for this weekend’s Red Bull Ring round.
“Despite this, we’ll hold onto the positive aspects, because in the long race, I had a good feeling, a good pace, and I was riding the way I like to up until I began to feel my forearm tightening up.
“After Austria, we’ll evaluate how to tackle this physical problem, and we’ll examine the possible solutions.
“Aprilia continues to do an outstanding job to help me find the right feeling and go into the weekend with as few doubts as possible.
“Now we need to focus on Austria, which is a track I like.
“I’d like to thank the team for the work they’re doing and the fans who supported us for the entire weekend in Misano. The atmosphere was spectacular.”
Should Martin need surgery on his arm, he will do so ahead of a double-header in Japan and Indonesia in the first weeks of October.
At present, there is only three weekends off between now and the end of the season, though the Qatar round - which is scheduled to conclude a triple-header in early November - is likely to be cancelled.
Bezzecchi “getting back on the saddle” after Misano disappointment
Martin’s Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the lead of last Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix, leaving him 33 points from the top of the championship.
But he believes going straight into another race weekend “is fundamental” to putting Misano behind him.
“I’m obviously disappointed about the Misano race, but the positive thing is that Austria is coming up straight away,” he said.
“Getting back in the saddle as quickly as possible after a mistake is fundamental.
“I’m clearly sorry about the crash, but we are taking away a lot of positive things from Misano: speed, the pole position, and my best result in a sprint race this season.
“The mistake in the Misano race obviously hurts, but we’ll try to transform that pain into grit for Austria.”
