Jorge Martin: I'll ride with a broken wrist, MotoGP title “not over until it's over”
Jorge Martin will attempt to ride in the Malaysian MotoGP despite a broken wrist that would normally require four to five weeks of recovery.
If Jorge Martin wasn't in the thick of a MotoGP title battle, he'd be at home with his broken wrist in a cast for the next four or five weeks.
Instead, Martin will be back on track at Sepang on Friday morning, less than a week after sustaining the injury when he crashed out of a thrilling victory battle with World Championship rival Marc Marquez at Phillip Island.
Declared unfit in Australia, where the Grand Prix was subsequently cancelled, Martin has been cleared to ride in FP1 at Sepang, after which his fitness will be reviewed.
"I will ride with a broken wrist"
“I'm good. I could be much worse after that crash,” Martin told MotoGP.com in Malaysia.
“I feel grateful to be here, to be able to try after only five days since I broke my radius.
“For sure, to be [passed] fit is the first step. Then to ride is another bigger step, so after riding I will decide to continue or not during the weekend.”
The cancellation of the Phillip Island Grand Prix means Martin remains just ten points behind Ducati's reigning champion Marquez, with four rounds to go.
“For sure, if I wasn’t in the fight for the championship, I would have my arm in a cast and wait four or five weeks. That is the normal therapy,” Martin said.
“I tried to do everything I could during these days in Kuala Lumpur to speed things up, but the process of [healing the] bone is what it is. It's still not healed. It's broken. So I will ride with a broken wrist.
“Let's try to enjoy the laps I do, and let's see if I am able to be competitive.”
MotoGP title "not over until it's over"
Martin expects to ride in pain not only at Sepang but also in Qatar, where the next round is due to take place a week later.
There will then be a weekend off before Portimao and Valencia complete the season.
“I think in Portimao, I will be able to ride in a normal way. But now we have Malaysia and then Qatar that are a big question mark for my condition,” he said.
“At the moment, it's not over until it's over, that's for sure, everything can happen [for the title].
“But I'm not thinking a lot about the championship.
“I want to see if I'm competitive, and in case I am competitive, then I'm still in the fight. In case I'm not, we can forget about it.”
Unfortunately for Martin, this weekend's event has also historically been one of Aprilia's toughest and one of Ducati's most successful.
Ducati has won nine Malaysian MotoGPs, including the past four Grands Prix in a row and all three Sepang Sprints.
Aprilia's best MotoGP result is seventh, with Alvaro Bautista in 2016 and Maverick Vinales in 2024.
Ai Ogura was the top RS-GP finisher last year, in tenth, although Martin's team-mate Marco Bezzecchi set the second-fastest lap time behind Alex Marquez on the final day of this year's pre-season test.
Martin missed last year’s grand prix and this year’s pre-season test due to injury.
Marc Marquez is a double Sepang MotoGP winner, but also missed last year's race due to injury, leaving his most recent victory as a Honda rider in 2018.
Pecco Bagnaia (Sprint) and Alex Marquez (Grand Prix) shared the race wins last season.
Afternoon thunderstorms are a threat throughout this year's Sepang weekend.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
