Reigning world champion Jorge Martin has shocked the MotoGP paddock - and himself - with his flying return to the series after an extended absence due to injury.
Back in action at this weekend’s Czech Grand Prix, Martin ended the first day of action at Brno in a very respectable fifth place despite heavy rain throughout the day.
Martin has only raced twice since the final round of the 2024 season in Barcelona last November, completing the sprint at Qatar in April before sustaining his third - and worst - injury of his short-so-far Aprilia career in the main race the next day.
Mixed conditions in the morning at Brno before heavy rain in the delayed afternoon session made for a far-from-ideal setting for his return - but it didn’t seem to hamper him too much once he got going.
“The feeling in the morning was just happy to be back,” he told the media afterwards, “happy to be competing again because I missed this feeling. It was a really demanding day, having all these feelings on the track, and we had to always be really focused.
“I felt super constant, and actually I was really emotional after finishing in the top five. Not because of the result itself, but because I am back and I did a great job today.
“I missed the consistency in my lines, and in the morning I felt I couldn’t make any mistakes so I went out wide four or five laps, but I think I would have been sixth or seventh [Martin's best lap, deleted for track limits, would've put him ninth] and I think I’m strong in both conditions.
“I don’t want to expect anything from tomorrow, just to continue to grow, to improve. This is the main target now and we’ll see where we can arrive.”
And while he insisted that the feeling of finally being able to return to a race weekend wasn’t one of relief per se but instead just joy at being back on the bike, it sounds like his first day back generated exactly the mood that both he and his team needed.
Coming after a tumultuous few months that saw Martin openly explore the concept of breaking his contract for 2026 and defecting to Honda before admitting on Thursday that his best option in the face of legal action from the Italian team was to remain, it’s hard to imagine that instant success on his return to the RS-GP won’t improve the mood in the box.
“I am not relieved because I don’t need to be,” he added, “but I am happy because the feeling was great. When I was on the bike, I was trying to enjoy it, because I didn’t have the pressure to be fast.
“I was just trying to feel the bike, and this was really nice. I will try to find this feeling in the future, because if you enjoy riding, everything comes not easier but with more fun.”
Part of the reason for his quick return to form is thanks to the rule changes Aprilia pushed through earlier in the year to allow racers who miss a substantial amount of time to test before returning to action, with last week’s single day at Misano playing a key role in Martin's form at Brno.
“Thanks to Aprilia because they pushed a lot for that test,” he said when asked by The Race, “and that was super important. I remember in the test, with no cameras and no people, I was able to ride really slowly, smoothly, trying to get to the bike and to find the position.
“Now that we have the position, I feel like already like it’s my bike. This is fantastic. For sure we have a lot of work to do, and I don’t want to be super optimistic, because we still have to work on the position.
"But the feeling is good and the base set-up is good. I can say we’re in a good situation.”
P5 and straight to Q2 on first day back at the office 🔥👏 @88jorgemartin#CzechGP 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/zduhknr2LM
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 18, 2025
