Aprilia's Martin set to return to MotoGP action at Czech Grand Prix
Wrist and ankle injuries sustained in a pre-season crash ruled him out of the first three rounds before another crash in his first race on board the Aprilia bike in Qatar in April led to a collapsed lung and bruised ribs.
The 27-year-old was reacquainted with the bike on Wednesday when he completed 64 laps at the Misano circuit and the team is convinced he can compete at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on the weekend of July 18-20, subject to an official medical check.
"It's been a difficult journey... After more than three months I'm back on a MotoGP bike, so I'm super happy," Martin said.
"It's a pity that I was injured so many times that we didn't make (race) the whole season, but now we are back. This is the most important thing and (I am) really looking forward to coming back really soon because the feeling today was great.
"The plan is to come back in Brno, so I hope everything goes well during this week and I can train in normal circumstances."
Although Martin was happy to hop back on the bike, he has made clear his intention to leave Aprilia ahead of the 2026 season.
However, Aprilia said they were ready to go to court if needed as they expect the Spaniard to honour his two-year contract.
Martin will miss this weekend's German Grand Prix, the halfway mark of the season. Ducati's Marc Marquez leads the riders' championship with 307 points while his brother Alex of Gresini Racing is 68 points behind in second.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Premier League clubs break window spending record as Okafor joins Leeds
LONDON :The Premier League's transfer spending spree reached record levels with more than a week of trading to go as promoted Leeds United signed AC Milan forward Noah Okafor for a reported 18 million pounds ($24.17 million) on Thursday. Okafor's arrival at Elland Road, following Bournemouth's signing of Amine Adli from Bayer Leverkusen, pushed the total spend beyond the 2.36 billion pounds splashed out in the 2023 summer window, according to Several other big-money deals between now and the closing of the window, including the likely sale of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace to Arsenal, mean spending by the world's most lucrative soccer league could even hit 3 billion pounds. While the list of big spenders is topped by the likes of champions Liverpool (289 million pounds), Chelsea (246 million), Manchester United (208 million) and Arsenal (194 million), even clubs with smaller resources have been splashing the cash. Six clubs have broken their transfer records, including Liverpool paying 100 million pounds, and another 16 million in add-on payments, to Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz. Burnley set a new club record by paying 25 million pounds for Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu while fellow promoted club Sunderland did the same by signing midfielder Habib Diarra for 26 million pounds from Strasbourg, part of a 142 million pounds squad-strengthening drive. Despite being outside the Premier League for eight seasons, Sunderland have spent more than any club in Europe's other top leagues apart from Spain's Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Nottingham Forest broke their transfer record twice during the current window in which they have spent almost 150 million pounds, including the signings of Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye from Bologna and winger Omari Hutchison from Ipswich Town. Spending by England's Premier League this summer is more than that of Italy's Serie A, Germany's Bundesliga, France's Ligue 1 and Spain's LaLiga combined. Serie A is second on the spending list with around 783 million pounds on player investment although the league's clubs have recouped more than that in sales. The Premier League's muscle in the transfer market is largely explained by huge broadcasting deals. This season is the first of a four-year domestic TV rights deal worth a record 6.7 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.7449 pounds)
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
WWE or Hollywood? Maher considering next move after Rugby World Cup
MANCHESTER, England :U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher said she is contemplating an offer to participate in WWE wrestling as a stepping stone to Hollywood after the Women's Rugby World Cup that kicks off on Friday in England. "I've been approached before by the WWE," she told the BBC, joking that her ring name would be 'Maher-vellous'. "I should think about it, there is great money in it." Maher is the world's most followed rugby player with nearly nine million followers across Instagram and TikTok. She was also a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars", posed for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and was named best breakthrough athlete at this year's Espys, ESPN's annual award show. "I would love to get into the acting space and the scripted space. I think a Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson, John Cena progression - I would love to do that," Maher said. "It would be exciting to see my body type on the screen. I'll start off small - probably like a hot assassin or something, let's not get too crazy. I'm not going to be in a rom-com just yet. "We'll see. The world is open, but I do see myself coming back to rugby." The United States play favourites England to open the World Cup on Friday at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Liverpool's Slot sidesteps Isak queries ahead of Newcastle game
Liverpool boss Arne Slot dodged questions on Thursday about Newcastle United's Alexander Isak with the transfer window closing and the wantaway striker expected to miss Monday's game against Slot's men at St James' Park. Isak was the subject of a 110 million pounds ($148.34 million) bid from Liverpool earlier this month according to media reports, and in a social media post on Tuesday accused Newcastle of breaking promises. Newcastle responded by saying there had been no commitment to sell the 25-year-old who is under contract until 2028. "What I can tell you is not a lot," Slot said of Isak, who is not training with his Newcastle teammates and sat out their 0-0 draw with Aston Villa in last week's season-opener. "It would be much nicer to talk about the players that we have." While the transfer window closes on September 1, Slot does not believe the defending league champions, who have also been strongly linked with a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, will have a busy nine days ahead of them. "I don't think so because then I would be unhappy with the squad we have and I am very, very happy with the squad we have," he told reporters on Thursday. "Two per position is ideal but I prefer less than more because you have to disappoint so many players every single time. "I am really happy with the squad, but if we think we can improve in a certain position and there is a player available that can really make us better ... this club has always shown they will bring these players in but only if they are everything we want." Slot will have Ryan Gravenberch back against Newcastle after the midfielder missed their loss to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield a day after his partner Cindy Peroti gave birth to their first child, and then their 4-2 season-opening win over Bournemouth as he served a suspension. "I think he can make a lot (of difference)," Slot said. "At least, if he is the same player he was as last season." The manager is expecting a much stronger season from Federico Chiesa, who scored a late goal last week against Bournemouth. "I see a totally different Federico now than for large parts of last season which is completely normal because he missed the entire pre-season and he came into a Premier League rhythm in terms of amount of games and intensity," Slot said. "He is in a much better place now and we can all see, when I needed a goal, I looked to the bench and I only had him and a 16-year-old in Rio (Ngumoha). It was more of a choice to bring him in and he delivered." Jeremie Frimpong, however, who limped off late in his Premier League debut last week because of a hamstring injury, will be out until after the international break.
