Is Jorge Martin a title contender again, and was the planned switch to Yamaha perhaps premature? After his podium success with Aprilia, he speaks plainly

Is Jorge Martin possibly already considering his decision (not yet officially confirmed) to switch to Yamaha from 2027? After his strong performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, this question no longer seems entirely far-fetched.

The 2024 World Champion’s performance on the track with Aprilia was more than just a respectable success. After a long injury break, Martin made an impressive comeback: third place in the sprint, second place in the Grand Prix – his first podium for Aprilia and the first in around one and a half years.

The relief was correspondingly great. “I’m really, really happy. Before the weekend, I didn’t expect to be here,” he says. Together with Aprilia, he “did an incredible job” and was able to improve significantly over the course of the Grand Prix weekend from Saturday to Sunday.

Martin not yet back at 100 percent

The race did not even go perfectly. He lost time on the first few laps because he got stuck in the pack. But more than second place was not possible anyway, the Spaniard admits. His team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, who won by over three seconds, is currently “at an incredible level”.

Despite this, the joy prevailed: finally a podium again, finally back at the front. But does this result mean that Martin is back to full strength – both physically and as a rider? Not quite. He himself explains: after Thailand he was “much better”, back then he thought he was at around 85 percent, now it’s more like 95 percent.

“I still have a bit of a problem with my hand and shoulder,” he admits, but above all he still lacks the perfect feel for the Aprilia. Sometimes he still rides too tense, which slows him down. Nevertheless: “It’s getting better with every lap.” In one to one and a half months at the latest, he wants to be back at the top level.

Martin’s fight back was that difficult

After the sprint, Martin had already indicated that the road back was not yet complete. Although he wanted to put the difficult previous season behind him, he had learned important lessons from it. At the same time, he emphasized that there was still work ahead of him, both physically and in terms of coordination with the bike. “I’m really happy about the podium, but we have to keep working hard,” he clarifies.

Martin himself classifies his comeback as particularly challenging. Comparisons with his return in Portimao in 2021 are difficult: he was younger then and hungrier for victories. Today, as world champion, the approach is different.

In addition, he has a veritable injury odyssey behind him: “27 broken bones, five operations … That was much harder than back then.” Nevertheless, he has once again fought his way back and now wants to build up his self-confidence step by step.

Yamaha deal signed prematurely?

Despite the strong weekend, Martin is tempering his expectations in the title fight. At the moment, he still lacks consistency over the race distance, and he simply has too little experience with the Aprilia. Other riders are “one with the bike”, while he still needs to understand what the bike needs and how he can adapt. But with growing speed and self-confidence, he is getting closer to the top riders every day.

And what about his future? Do results like this change his plans? According to insiders, he has already signed with Yamaha for 2027. “No, that doesn’t change anything,” says Martin. “The future is the future. Now is the present. I want to concentrate on the present.”

Of course he is worried, but as soon as he has made a decision, he will back it 100 percent. “But now we are at Aprilia, now we are in a good phase, and it is time to enjoy the moment.”

Rivola believes: This is just the beginning

The fact that this moment is possible at all is also down to the good work of the team – and Martin’s exceptional talent, as Aprilia’s Head of Racing Massimo Rivola emphasizes. For him, the success came as less of a surprise, as Martin is a naturally super-fast rider and double world champion, according to Rivola.

Nevertheless, it was an emotional weekend, with two podium finishes “in such good style”. The Aprilia boss is convinced: “What he showed in Thailand was impressive. What he showed here was impressive. And what he will show in the next races will also be impressive.”

Without a crash in qualifying, even more might have been possible, speculates Rivola. But regardless of this, it is clear that “Jorge is on the rise”. And that could be one of the most exciting developments of the season.