Reigning MotoGP champion Martin will miss Thailand GP due to new injury

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin will sit out this week’s Thailand Grand Prix after suffering a fracture during training, Autosport has learned.

Martin is understood to have fractured his left hand on Monday, just days before he was due to contest the season’s opening round in Buriram. He is now set to undergo an operation on Tuesday.

The Spaniard was already recovering from the injuries he sustained in a horrific highside on the opening day of pre-season testing at Sepang earlier this month. On that occasion, he suffered fractures to his right hand and left foot. 

After spending 24 hours under observation for a severe blow to the head, Martin travelled to Barcelona, where he underwent surgery on 7 February by Dr. Xavier Mir.

Martin’s entourage had assured Autosport that he was doing well and preparing to travel to Thailand on Tuesday with the aim of passing the medical examination on Thursday and partaking in first practice the following day.

However, Autosport has now learned that Martin picked up an injury on Monday morning and will need to have an immediate operation.

With his latest injury, the Aprilia rider will not be able to contest the Buriram race. It is unclear how long it will take for him to complete a full recovery.

It also completes a fraught winter break for Martin, who signed a multi-million dollar deal to lead Aprilia’s MotoGP programme after winning the 2024 title on a Pramac Ducati.

Martin got his first chance to sample the Aprilia RS-GP in November’s Barcelona test, before completing just a dozen laps at Sepang in February when he was violently thrown off the bike at Turn 2.

Aprilia was willing to let Martin treat the first few rounds of the season as an extension of his test programme, but the injury on Monday has dealt another blow to his 2025 campaign.

The Italian outfit’s test rider Lorenzo Savadori may substitute Martin this weekend. Aprilia had previously drafted in the 31-year-old at last week’s Buriram test to accrue valuable mileage with the RS-GP.