After persistent pain, Jorge Marin had to go under the knife again this winter – he sought crucial advice from Marc Marquez beforehand.
Jorge Martin is preparing to return to his bike after a complicated winter. But it has been a longer road than planned.
Due to persistent problems with his collarbone and scaphoid bone, the 2024 MotoGP world champion underwent another operation. Before the procedure, the Aprilia rider specifically sought advice from Marc Marquez, who has himself survived numerous complicated injuries and operations during his career. The nine-time world champion later described the contact.
“Jorge called me at the end of the season to ask for advice,” “I recommended that he see the doctors who operated on my thumb [in 2023] and my shoulder last winter, and gave him their contact details.”
Martin actually wanted to get back to full throttle quickly after his comeback at the season finale in Valencia. That was where he made his first start after missing four race weekends. The reason was his serious crash in Japan, in which he broke his right collarbone and left scaphoid bone. But despite his return to the track, the discomfort did not completely disappear in the weeks that followed. On the contrary, the situation actually worsened in everyday life.
This was the trigger for Martin’s renewed surgeries
A seemingly harmless moment at home brought new clarity about the condition of his injuries: when Martin reached for a bottle, he suddenly felt severe pain in both his wrist and collarbone. “Suddenly, I felt a very sharp pain in the collarbone area.”
After this incident, it became clear to him that further action was needed. Martin followed Marquez’s recommendation and turned to the team of specialists led by Dr. Ignacio Roger de Ona at the Ruber Clinic in Madrid. After a thorough examination, the doctors advised further surgery.
Bone material was taken from his hip and transplanted into the affected collarbone for stabilization. The aim was to strengthen the structure in the long term and eliminate the recurring symptoms.
Despite the renewed operation, Martin takes the situation with humor. “Now my collarbone is stronger than ever,” jokes the Aprilia rider. He initially kept the operations secret. The reason for this was uncertainty as to whether he would be fit enough in time for the first official test drives of the year in Malaysia. Accordingly, he did not mention the procedures at Aprilia’s team presentation in Milan in mid-January. It was only afterwards that it became public knowledge that Martin had already undergone surgery in December. This measure was ultimately also the reason why Martin was unable to take part in the Sepang test. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori stepped in for him.
At the beginning of the week, the decisive check-up finally took place. Martin was given medical clearance to ride a road motorcycle again. The “Martinator” immediately took advantage of this opportunity: on Tuesday, the Spaniard completed his first outing at the Aspar Circuit in Valencia.
Now all eyes are on the next step in the comeback plan. Martin plans to compete in the second official MotoGP preseason test on February 21 and 22 in Buriram, Thailand. The first Grand Prix of the new season will take place there just a few days later, from February 27 to March 1.