Aleix Espargaro has shared some telling updates about reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin’s condition - which he indicates is connected to what's currently going on between Martin and his employer Aprilia.
Martin was injured in pre-season testing before then suffering a worse injury while training ahead of the season opener. Upon his return in Qatar, he crashed again and suffered 11 rib fractures and a hemopneumothorax.
In the meantime, his future at Aprilia has been called into question, with reports that the reigning MotoGP world champion wants to cut short his contract with the team.
While Martin remains absent from the paddock, Espargaro - a former Aprilia lead rider who helped to orchestrate the deal between Martin and the Italian factory, and who is so close to the reigning champion he said last year he loves Martin "as my son” - has provided some insight on what's been going on.
'He's struggling'
According to Espargaro, who lives close to Martin in Andorra, the latter has “felt a big change” in the past week.
But the MotoGP veteran emphasised that Martin continues to struggle mentally, both with the injuries but also what they might mean longer-term.
“He starts to walk, goes to the mountains, starts to do normal life,” Espargaro said of Martin. “Not able to train yet, but to do normal life. So it was a big improvement already.
“But obviously mentally he’s struggling. He’s struggling because it’s a big injury, he lost also the confidence, he started to have some doubts about whether he will be fast again or not. So he’s not dealing with an easy situation.”
Espargaro himself dealt with his fair share of uncertainty over whether or not to retire in recent years - a step he took at the end of 2024 before moving to Honda as a test rider.
He says he shared the lessons that situation taught him with Martin in a bid to further help his friend's mental recovery.
“It’s to stay close to the people you love is the only thing,” he said. “If you don’t have a good environment, if you are alone at home, it’s very difficult, because you are just negative.
“But if you have a good environment, a good family, and good friends to stay close to try to be positive as much as possible, [about] every small achievement - if you are able to go towards the mountains, you have to celebrate with a pizza that night.
“These small things that you have to do are very-very important, because at the end of the road it will make the difference.”
Espargaro never wanted this
Espargaro had the option to stay at Aprilia as test rider, but chose to make a fresh start at Honda instead.
This - combined with the fact that Honda also hired tech chief Romano Albesiano from Aprilia, and that Honda is seen as by far the likeliest suitor for Martin's services in case he leaves Aprilia - has led to speculation over whether Espargaro has again played a part behind the scenes.
The MotoGP veteran was desperate to make it clear this was not the case. And he also admitted that Albert Valera - who manages Espargaro, Martin and Pedro Acosta - "called me two hours ago and said to me ‘please don’t talk about Jorge, it’s the best thing, because if you start you will not be able to stop'."
But Espargaro did talk. “The only thing that I would like to say," he began, "is that if Jorge is in Aprilia - I’m not saying that it’s my fault or thanks to me, but I pushed a lot Aprilia’s management, I pushed a lot Jorge, I tried to convince him as much as possible.
“He had to decide between two or three different manufacturers and I pushed him quite a lot to sign for Aprilia.
"I never ever - I swear - told him to join Honda. I think it’s not the right time yet.
“Obviously Jorge is an amazing rider, every team would like to have the world champion, that’s for sure.
"I would love to see Jorge winning races with Aprilia, but I would respect what he decides. The only thing I can say is that I never pushed him to join Honda.”
It is not that surprising an admission given Esparagro has a strong legacy at Aprilia as the rider who snapped its 21-year premier-class win drought - and someone who said on Thursday that Aprilia made him feel "always that I was Valentino Rossi for them".
But - he insisted - "it's not about me, it's not about Aprilia, it's about a rider who was on top of the world and is suddenly in the bottom".
"I’m not surprised," Espargaro also said of Martin's reported desire to go elsewhere. "This is about the athletes and their minds - and nobody in this room, not even me, can understand how much he was suffering during the first three or four months of the year through the injuries, through the frustration.
"So when you are in this position, you never know what you will do, you never know what your head will decide. You have to respect [that].”
