Jorge Martin: "Bone still broken", Marc Marquez "only guy that can lose or win" MotoGP title
Jorge Martin says his wrist has improved since Malaysia but is "still broken" as he fights to keep the championship alive beyond Qatar.
Jorge Martin estimates his fractured right wrist has improved from 20% in Malaysia, where he was forced to abandon a comeback attempt, to 50% ahead of this weekend's Qatar MotoGP.
But he admitted “the bone is still broken” and it's unclear whether he can complete the Lusail weekend.
Martin will undergo a last-minute medical review at midday on Friday, ahead of opening practice.
“Without the cast, I'm feeling much better,” Jorge Martin told MotoGP.com.
“I was feeling a lot of pain on my wrist because I wasn't doing any mobility. So we decided with the doctors that the best option was to remove it.
“I'm feeling much better, I'm getting my strength back. For sure, the situation, it is what it is, the bone is still broken, but I will try to ride in the best way possible.
“I’ll try to be able to ride with the pain, and let's see if I'm able to finish the weekend.”
He added: “Maybe in Malaysia [my wrist] was 20%, and maybe now I'm 50%. But if I'm able to take that 50% out of my riding style, maybe it's enough to do a good result and take some points.
“Anything can happen in this sport, and we will try our best.”
Martin needs to score at least eight points this weekend to keep the MotoGP title battle alive into the penultimate round at Portimao, even if Marquez takes maximum points.
“For sure, Marc's the only guy that can lose it or win it. It’s not in my control, but I hope that he doesn't win it this weekend!”
The Aprilia star added that in his media debrief his main objective is to keep the championship fight alive until Valencia.
Martin's team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, third in the world championship and a further 23 points from Marc Marquez, has a similar objective.
"The gap is quite big with only three rounds left, but my target is to go as fast as I can to keep the fight alive.
"It will not be easy. Last year, Marc was super quick here and won both races.
"We were pretty slow, but the situation is quite different now, and hopefully we can try to fight with the top guys."
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.
