Martin confirms MotoGP return from injury at Qatar GP
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The factory Aprilia team has confirmed that MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin will return from injury at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
Martin, who has missed the first three weekends of the year following a pre-season Supermoto training accident, had already expressed his desire to return to action in Doha when he visited the paddock at the Americas GP last weekend. Now his comeback has been officially announced by Aprilia, the team to which he moved from Pramac for 2025.
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Martin's participation for the full weekend will however be subject to medical assessments in Qatar – as well as his own feeling and pain levels.
He will have to earn a clean bill of health before Free Practice 1 on Friday, which will be his first chance to ride his MotoGP bike since the training injury in February. He is then likely to undergo further assessments to confirm his fitness for the remainder of the event.
The rider himself is aware that even if he can take part in the entire weekend at Losail, he should not expect too much in terms of performance.
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'I have a great desire to be back on the track and I'm happy to at least be able to try and race in Qatar,' said Martin. 'The goal will be to build up a bit of confidence with the RS-GP25 and to begin to turn some laps.
'I don't know how my physical fitness will be – undoubtedly not 100%. We'll try to do our best and to improve gradually.
'Physically, I'm not even sure I'll be able to finish the race, but if we can manage [to do so] it will be a victory because that will mean that I'm beginning to recover. We need to take one step at a time to try and get back to our normal level as soon as possible.'
According to an Aprilia statement, Martin 'underwent surgery on 25 February and then followed an intense physical therapy programme with the goal of returning to the track as quickly as possible.
'Before taking to the track, the defending world champion will need to be assessed by the [MotoGP] medical delegation in order to be cleared to race.'
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