Emotional Martin happy to be back competing after injury setbacks
Wrist and ankle injuries suffered in a pre-season crash ruled the 27-year-old Spaniard 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.
He marked his comeback with an impressive fifth place finish at the Czech MotoGP practice in Brno on Friday.
"I miss this feeling a lot and just focused," Martin told reporters. "It was a really demanding day, having all these conditions on track. We had to be always really focused.
"The dry line was really narrow in some corners so it was difficult to be consistent. I missed the consistency by being out for a lot of months.
"It was really emotional after finishing in the top five, not because of the result itself, but because I am back. I did a great job today. I am really happy."
Friday's practice session was Martin's first time on the Aprilia in the rain.
Martin won his first MotoGP title last season with Pramac Racing before moving to Aprilia.
"I cannot be really optimistic when I go into the corners because I don't know what is going to happen," he said. "So I need to start feeling the things, but as soon as I put on some more tyres, I was always in the top four, top five."
The Czech MotoGP qualifying takes place later on Saturday, with the race happening on Sunday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
MotoGP's Argentina Grand Prix to return in 2027 near Buenos Aires
The Argentina Grand Prix, which will not be a part of the MotoGP calendar next year, will return in 2027 at a different venue near the capital Buenos Aires. MotoGP said on its website the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez, which staged several Formula One and motorcycle Grand Prix races until the 1990s, will be renovated to host the event, which has been held at Termas de Rio Hondo, more than 1,100km from the capital, since 2014. 'Starting in October, we will undertake a comprehensive renovation of the circuit which includes work on the track, pits, paddock and safety zones, incorporating the latest technology," said Jorge Macri, chief of government of Buenos Aires. "Bringing MotoGP to the city means the arrival of an elite competition with the most important international teams and riders which will be enjoyed by about 150,000 people at the track." The 2025 edition of the race was held in March, with Marc Marquez winning the Grand Prix.

IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
We're slowly starting to figure it out, says Brad Binder after Czechia MotoGP eighth-place finish
Brad Binder finished eighth in the Czech Republic this past weekend. Photo: Red Bull Image: Red Bull Brad Binder was once again made to work hard as he charged from the back of the grid to walk away from the Czech Grand Prix with a valuable eighth-place finish, salvaging points after another gritty ride. The South African returned to the Brno circuit — the same track where he made history in 2020 by delivering not only his first MotoGP win but also KTM's first in the premier class — with hopes of reviving his season, which has been far from easy so far. The 29-year-old started his race from 19th place looking for more improvement following his 10th-place finish in Saturday's sprint race. 3 KTM's in the top 10! 💪🧡#CzechGP — RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING (@KTM_Racing) July 20, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Binder admitted that finishing eighth in the main race wasn't exactly satisfying, but he took heart from the progress made with recent adjustments and is optimistic that the upcoming four-week summer break will allow the team to take further steps forward. 'I still never had the pace I was looking for, but somehow we were a little better (Sunday)," Binder said after the race. 'I found a way to be better in mid-corner and exit, but I was losing a lot of time in braking and entry. 'It just seemed to be more controllable in my hand, so I was really happy about that, and by no means am I happy with 8th position, but — even though it doesn't look like it — we are slowly starting to figure it out. 'This is something we have to work on and find the combination; if we can do that, then it can be very positive. We tried something completely different with the bike, a little bit with the engine character, and it helped a bit with the edge grip and the drive.' Spanish rider and Binder's teammate Pedro Acosta continued his good form with the RC16 as he secured a podium third-place finish behind championship favorite Marc Marquez and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi, who was second. Acosta has been the top KTM rider this season, currently finding himself in t of the championship riders, and Binder believes he can take away valuable lessons from his teammate and Tech3's Enea Bastianini, who also looked strong before crashing out in the main race. 'The really good thing is that both Pedro and Enea were super-fast this weekend, so I have some good things to check and figure out how they are doing it.'

TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE racer finishes second at a rain-soaked East London circuit
Prince George Grand Prix circuit — a sunny East London Friday practice day greeted the throng of racers in the eight classes of the Extreme Festival Tour powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday. The rehearsal preceded an eventful qualifying and racing on a Saturday morning marked by cold and rainy weather resulting in a number of racing incidents and another second place podium finish for the No 50 TimesLIVE Toyota GR Yaris. Qualifying With panic about this track having set in weeks before in our GR Yaris rookie group, its reputation preceded its real enjoyment. It's the fastest circuit on the calendar with potential to hit more than 220km/h on some sections and it introduced us to new and wilder emotions, the crucial decision-making pro racers face at times for a chance at victory and as pure survival tactics. A wet East London immediately offered surprises, starting with loss of control of my GR Yaris on the sixth lap of qualifying. I held on but decided the conditions were too dangerous and opted to exit the session before its close. An undamaged car was the priority no matter where I'm placed on the starting grid. The drama taps were then switched on. The first red flag was raised when dealer man Riaan de Rui hit a patch of water that trickled onto the main straight during the GR Cup group two qualifiers, his GR Corolla careening off the track and landing on its roof. The Gauteng resident escaped uninjured, but it caused a long delay as race marshals rebuilt the tyre wall. With the day's arrangements muddled up and with the rest of the qualifiers scrapped, the luck I'd hoped for going into this race shined when GR Cup team manager Leeroy Poulter made the call that Friday's practice times would now determine the start grid positions for the late race. It would also be a single 12-lap race for double points instead of the regular pair of eight-lap heats. The heat My fastest practice time of 1:36.563 meant starting fifth on the mixed dealer/media class grid and third in our GR Yaris field, behind Car Magazine's Kyle Kock. A good launch on a dried track had me neck-and-neck with Kock with AutoTrader's Lawrence Minnie nearby heading into turn 1 — the frighteningly fast Potters Pass curve. We continued towards the even faster Rifle bend and into the slow Cocobana right turn with me still behind Kock and him tailing dealer man Mario De Sousa. Sticking close by paid off as Kock skidded and overshot his braking on approach to Beacon bend with De Sousa holding back to avoid contact. The fracas created an opportunity for me to pass on the inside line and I didn't miss the chance to capitalise and pounced for a double overtake on the pair onto the main straight. I never looked back until the chequered flag where I finished second in the class behind winner and championship leader Nabil Abdool from SuperSport. The weekend's point haul is a bigger cushion against Kock who arrived in East London a single point behind me in the overall standings. The next round will be a return to Cape Town's Killarney raceway on September 13.