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Muc-Off athlete Jorge Martín experienced a weekend of highs, setbacks and flat-out determination at the San Marino Grand Prix.
After struggling on Friday, the #89 fought back to claim a Sprint podium before leading Sunday’s Grand Prix and eventually bringing his Aprilia home in fifth.
Only after the chequered flag did the reason behind his sudden drop in pace become clear.
FRIDAY: SEARCHING FOR SPEED
Martín arrived at Misano leading the championship fight, but Friday didn’t go to plan.
He came dangerously close to dropping into Q1 after struggling to unlock the Aprilia’s qualifying pace. The soft rear tyre pushed the front, made the bike increasingly aggressive and prevented Jorge from attacking on a flying lap.
"I cannot ride with the soft [rear]," Martin said. "That's why I am suffering in time attack. I feel it's pushing [the front] and everything gets so aggressive, and really difficult to manage the bike."
Jorge and the Aprilia Racing team worked through the issues, adjusting both the bike and his riding ahead of Saturday.
SATURDAY: BACK ON THE PODIUM
With the soft tyre causing problems, Martín switched to the medium rear for the 13-lap Sprint.
The move paid off.
Jorge picked off Fermín Aldeguer and Fabio Di Giannantonio as he charged through the field. Following Di Giannantonio left his front tyre “cooked”, but once through, Martín pulled clear and secured a comfortable third place.
After Friday’s struggles, it was a strong recovery and a valuable haul of championship points.
P3. Podium secured. Onto Sunday.
SUNDAY: FROM SECOND TO THE LEAD
Before the lights went out, Aprilia had already made a statement.
Martín’s RS-GP swapped its usual black colours for the one-off white “Perla Bianca” livery. Created to celebrate Vespa’s 80th anniversary, the design was inspired by the white race suit worn by Formula 1 icon Gilles Villeneuve in 1981—which featured the Piaggio Vespa logo on its sleeve.
A standout look for Aprilia’s home race—and Jorge soon made sure it was running at the front.
Martín made a trademark rapid start to Sunday’s 27-lap Grand Prix, clearing Aldeguer and Di Giannantonio to move into third.
When polesitter Marco Bezzecchi crashed out on the opening lap, Marc Márquez inherited the lead and Jorge moved into second directly behind him.
Martín stayed locked onto the Ducati before launching his attack on lap seven. He fired up the inside at Turn 4, took the lead and quickly opened a half-second advantage.
The Martinator was flying.
Márquez responded and began closing the gap before retaking the position at Turn 6 on lap 12. Jorge initially remained in the fight, but his pace then dropped sharply.
Alex Márquez moved past two laps later, followed by Pedro Acosta and Aldeguer. Martín continued to push, eventually crossing the line fifth and collecting 11 championship points.
It wasn’t the result his early pace had promised—but there was more to the story.
MARTÍN REVEALS ARM-PUMP ISSUE
After the race, Jorge revealed that an unexpected arm-pump problem had left him struggling to control the Aprilia.
As the issue intensified, Martín described himself as being “out of control” on the bike. Under the huge braking forces generated by a MotoGP machine, he could no longer maintain his earlier pace.
Without the problem, Jorge believed he could have stayed in the victory battle.
"I could've fought with Marc"
“It’s something that arrived today. For sure, I was struggling a bit during the weekend, but I didn’t expect that today it was going to be the issue of the race."
“Now I don’t have time to do anything. I have to recover well, try to be focused in Austria, but for sure we need to understand what to do after Austria, if I need to undergo surgery or not, because now there are a lot of races together."
Despite the frustration, Jorge left Misano smiling and admitted that he “really enjoyed” the race.
"I enjoyed a lot those first laps, I was super happy and it was so nice to fight with Marc and overtake him. But this is racing and this can happen.”
Before the physical issue struck, he had matched Márquez, passed him and led the Grand Prix. The final result didn’t reflect the speed he had shown.
LEVEL AT THE TOP
Jorge and Marc Márquez leave Misano level on 274 points. Márquez officially holds the championship lead due to his greater number of Grand Prix victories, with Marco Bezzecchi third on 241.
Jorge must now assess the arm-pump issue and determine whether surgery will be required.
Next stop: the Red Bull Ring.
Let’s go, Jorge!motory
