During the Qatar Grand Prix, MotoGP 2024 Champion Jorge Martin crashed, sending him to the hospital. The rider has spent the last 11 days in Doha with a pneumothorax and 11 fractured ribs. It was not a good day at the office for the former season champion, who has had a dismal 2025 season plagued by multiple back-to-back injuries.
The champion completed 13 laps in the Qatar GP when he crashed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the crash that hurt Martin, as the rider fell in the middle of the track, but the bike of Fabio Di Giannantonio. When Martin went down, Giannantonio was unable to steer clear of Martin’s body, and his front wheel struck Jorge.
The Aprilia rider was rushed to Hamad General Hospital. Martin was released from the hospital last Sunday and has been awaiting medical clearance to leave Qatar. Earlier today, in the runup to the Spanish GP, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola confirmed Martin will come home this Saturday.
“The first good news is that Jorge was discharged from the hospital last Sunday. The second is that he’ll be flying to Madrid on a medical flight on Saturday,” Rivola says. “Even though he’s always been accompanied by his father and partner, going home will surely help him emotionally. Once in Madrid, Jorge will undergo a thorough medical evaluation, and from there, we’ll begin to assess his recovery timeline, which we cannot determine at the moment.”
Martin’s 2025 season is not off to a good start, but it has nothing to do with his race results. On February 5, 2025, Martin crashed during the 2025 winter tests in Sepang. He took a high side, seriously injuring his right hand. He crashed again when preparing for the opening race of the season, this time injuring his left hand. He had to have surgery on both hands.
The second race forced Martin to exit competing in Thailand, Argentina, and at COTA in Austin. He returned to racing for the Qatar GP, where the latest crash occurred. The latest injury should give the team pause about rushing him back to the paddock for race day.
Some speculate that Aprilia should hire a better fill-in driver for Martin than Lorenzo Savadori, but according to Rivola, this move isn’t in the cards. “When a problem arises, you have to turn it into an opportunity, and with Savadori, we now have the chance to accelerate the bike’s development,” Savadori explained.
Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Jorge Martin (89) of Spain and Prima Pramac Racing before the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Could all of these injuries have a greater impact on Martin’s psyche? He has fallen every time he’s been on the bike in 2025. According to Rivola, he remains optimistic about Martin’s mental state during recovery: “A rider with the heart, energy, and guts of Martín makes me optimistic in that regard.”