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Aprilia: Jorge Martin to return in Sepang at the earliest

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After the Japanese Grand Prix and Indonesian weekend, Aprilia factory rider Jorge Martin will also miss the Australian weekend – recovering in Austria

The MotoGP weekend for the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island (October 17 to 19) will not only take place without the new world champion Marc Marquez. Last year’s world champion Jorge Martin will also not be competing “Down Under.”

While Ducati factory rider Marquez was at the start in Mandalika (Indonesia) last weekend, he was knocked off his bike by Aprilia factory rider Marco Bezzecchi in Sunday’s race and injured his shoulder. Bezzecchi’s Aprilia teammate Martin has been out of action since the previous race weekend in Motegi, Japan.

As a reminder, Martin caused the crash at the start of Saturday’s sprint race at Motegi, which also involved Bezzecchi, among others. Martin broke his right collarbone in the crash, which meant he did not travel to Indonesia for the weekend, but instead underwent surgery in Spain.

In Martin’s absence, Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora said during the Mandalika weekend on Dorna Sports’ TV broadcast: “The operation went really well. However, after consulting with the doctors, I can confirm that [Martin] will not be available to us at Phillip Island. To assess how things will proceed, we will have to wait for the next medical tests.“

Jorge Martin: Recovery with training in Austria

In this context, Bonora revealed that it was ”not a simple collarbone fracture.“ But what was it? ”The bone was broken in two places. That requires a longer recovery period.”

Martin is currently undergoing this longer recovery phase, including physical training, in Austria, more specifically at the Red Bull Athletes’ Performance Center in Thalgau near Salzburg. This was announced by Aprilia on Monday.

Once again, Marco Bezzecchi will be the only regular rider from the Aprilia factory team to compete in Australia this weekend. Unlike the Ducati rider, the Italian escaped without injury when he crashed with Marc Marquez in Mandalika.

When asked whether test rider Lorenzo Savadori might once again replace Martin on the factory team’s second RS-GP25 at Phillip Island, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola did not want to reveal his hand.

Aprilia plays it safe with Martin

Rivola avoided questions about Savadori during the Indonesian weekend. Regarding Martin, he said: “Jorge is someone who recovers quickly, especially mentally. But especially after what has happened this year, we prefer to play it safe and only attempt a comeback when the time is right.”

Rivola is referring to the long breaks Martin has already had to take twice this year before injuring himself again in the Motegi sprint. The first major setback for the 2024 MotoGP world champion was a broken hand, initially caused by his crash during testing in Sepang in February, which was made worse shortly afterwards by a crash during private motorcycle training. The second was broken ribs, which he sustained in Lusail just as he was making his MotoGP comeback. That was in mid-April, and he crashed again there. As a result of the crashes at the Malaysia test, during private training, and in the Qatar race, Martin has had to miss a total of ten race weekends. The recent Indonesian weekend was the eleventh MotoGP weekend of 2025 without the previous year’s world champion due to the crash at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix. And the upcoming Australian weekend will be the twelfth, according to Aprilia. Martin’s comeback will not be until the end of October at the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend in Sepang at the earliest.

Trackhouse provides update on Ai Ogura

Incidentally, Jorge Martin is not the only MotoGP rider in Aprilia’s service who was not in action last weekend in Indonesia. Ai Ogura from the satellite team Trackhouse Racing was also only a spectator in Mandalika due to injury.

As a reminder, Ogura crashed at high speed during Sunday’s Grand Prix in Misano at the beginning of September. Two weeks later, he wanted to compete in his home race in Motegi, but had to cut the weekend short after Saturday’s race (sprint). How is his recovery going?

“Of course, it’s not ideal, especially in his rookie season, that his learning process has been interrupted,” said Trackhouse team boss Davide Brivio in Mandalika, speaking on Dorna Sports’ TV broadcast.

“He crashed at more than 160 mph in Misano. After that, he went to Japan for his home race. He gave it his all there, but after Saturday’s sprint, the pain was too much. That’s why we decided against starting on Sunday,“ said Brivio about Ogura. According to Brivio, the decision to withdraw was ”made to give him a few more days of rest for Indonesia.” Unlike Martin, Ogura was on site in Mandalika. However, he did not make his comeback there. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel again. The goal now is for him to get fit again for Australia, Malaysia, and the rest of the season,” said the Trackhouse team boss about the MotoGP rookie from Japan.

“Would have done the same”: Wittmann responds after storm of criticism against Güven

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Ayhancan Güven was the target of a storm of criticism after his aggressive maneuvers in the title finale: Now his rival Marco Wittmann has spoken out in defense of the DTM champion.

Two days after the DTM season finale in Hockenheim, with Ayhancan Güven’s controversial overtaking maneuver against Marco Wittmann four corners before the checkered flag, the Schubert BMW driver has spoken out once again. And he now sees the events that earned the Turkish Manthey Porsche driver the title in a slightly different light.

“The last lap was intense and probably the most exciting in the history of the DTM,” writes the two-time champion, who was unable to become champion in the last race himself, on Instagram. “In hindsight, I should have covered the inside more to stay in front and win the race.”

However, he says he “didn’t know at the time that victory was the only way for Ayhancan to become champion. So, of course, he tried – and it was victory or the gravel trap,” he says, showing understanding for his rival’s toughness, especially given the circumstances, who is now facing some below-the-belt comments, particularly on social media.

Wittmann shows understanding for Güven’s tough move

Wittmann now makes it clear that he is fine with Güven’s maneuver in the Sachskurve, when the Porsche driver squeezed past Wittmann on the inside with two wheels off the track. “I’m pretty sure I would have done exactly the same thing in his place,” said the Schubert BMW driver, who finished second in the end.

Immediately after the race, he had said that the move in the Sachskurve was “a bit controversial” and “open to debate.” He said he was “hit from behind, even though I actually slammed the door shut.”

Comparison with legendary duel between Paffett and Glock

Today, however, Wittmann is aware of what a thrilling finale the two delivered and that he too made DTM history with his spectacular overtaking maneuver on the straight in front of the Motodrom.

The spectacular final lap of the race reminded him “very much of the epic battle between Gary Paffett and Timo Glock—I hope we made you both proud with our final lap,” said Wittmann, referring to the legendary duel for victory at the 2018 DTM weekend in Hockenheim.

And he doesn’t miss the opportunity to congratulate Güven on his title. “Congratulations to Ayhancan Güven on winning the 2025 DTM championship title. With five wins and his commitment in the last race and on the last lap, he delivered under pressure – he deserved it!“ He leaves no doubt that he considers the Manthey Porsche driver a worthy champion.

Kelvin van der Linde comments on shitstorm: ”Really frightening”

Wittmann expressed his regret for his teammate, whose title hopes were dashed by the retirement, on the radio immediately after the incident in the first lap, when Rene Rast fell victim to a chain reaction after his duel with Güven, and also encouraged his Schubert team.

“Of course, I feel very sorry for Rene that he was taken out of the race so early,” Wittmann confirmed after the race, which he almost won from 17th on the grid.

Incidentally, he is not the only BMW driver to react to the sometimes harsh comments on social media. Kelvin van der Linde expressed his displeasure with the culture of discussion following Güven’s title win in a private Instagram comment.

“I find it really frightening that nowadays nobody can be happy for anyone else anymore,” wrote the South African.
“No matter what sport: so much envy and negative comments. It’s a shame.” He knows what he’s talking about, because in 2021, the then Abt driver himself was the victim of a shitstorm after the controversial title finale.

Fans suspect conspiracy: Did the FIA favor Lando Norris?

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Some fans are wondering why Lando Norris didn’t have to change his front wing on Sunday – but the FIA has not intervened in such cases for some time now.

“They want Lando to win the championship,” wrote an obviously angry Formula 1 fan on social media after the Singapore Grand Prix. And he is not alone in his opinion that Lando Norris received preferential treatment from the FIA on Sunday.

Many fans are upset that the Brit was allowed to finish the night race with an obviously damaged front wing, while race officials have pulled other cars from the race in the past for similar defects.

Norris’ wing broke right at the start when he lightly collided with Max Verstappen in the second corner. The end plate on the left side was damaged to such an extent that it bent outwards. However, McLaren did not call Norris into the pits because of this.

And even during his regular pit stop later in the race, McLaren did not replace the broken wing. Many fans are angry about this because in the past, the black and orange “fried egg flag” was often used in such cases.

When race control shows this flag, the driver concerned must come into the pits to have his car repaired—in this specific case, the front wing. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, for example, experienced this several times during the 2022 season. While some observers suspect a conspiracy, the real reason why race control in Singapore did not intervene is quite simple. At the end of 2022, the decision was made to use the “fried egg flag” much less frequently.

What led to a rethink at the FIA

The trigger for the decision at the time was a situation involving Fernando Alonso at the US Grand Prix in Texas. Alonso lost his mirror there, but still finished the race. He was subsequently given a time penalty, which was then withdrawn after several twists and turns.

This curious case raised the question of when race control should use the black and orange flag. The then McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl called for “a more uniform regulation so that everyone in the paddock […] knows how the rules are interpreted.”

The FIA subsequently decided to only use the flag in cases of major safety hazards. Alan Permane, then Alpine sporting director and now Racing Bulls team principal, said at the time that the FIA had realized “that things had gone a little too far.”

“I think from now on, minor damage such as a mirror or a wing end plate […] will no longer be considered a violation requiring a black and orange flag,” Permane said at the time. And indeed, the “fried egg flag” has been used much less frequently since then.

In Sunday’s race in Singapore, for example, the front wing on Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber was significantly more damaged than Norris’ car after a start accident. But even here, the race management did not intervene and the team voluntarily changed the wing later on.

And as early as 2023, the FIA’s then still relatively new guideline had caused controversy when the entire rear wing of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine had come loose at the Canadian Grand Prix. However, even then, the Frenchman was allowed to finish the race without intervention from the FIA.

“Shocking”: Laurent Mekies’ assessment of Tsunoda’s weekend

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According to Laurent Mekies, Yuki Tsunoda had “very decent pace” in Singapore – but here’s why the Japanese driver still ended up without any points

After Yuki Tsunoda achieved his best result to date in the Red Bull cockpit with sixth place in Baku, the Japanese driver was unable to build on this result in the following race in Singapore. Instead, Tsunoda received the maximum penalty on Sunday.

Not only did the Japanese driver finish the race in twelfth place and thus without any points, he was also lapped by his teammate Max Verstappen. “It was definitely the worst start or the worst first lap of my life,” Tsunoda reported.

Qualifying on Saturday had already gone completely wrong for him, with him finishing in 15th place. However, because the two Williams drivers were subsequently disqualified, the Japanese driver was allowed to start from P13 on Sunday—and initially got off to a pretty good start.

On the way to the first corner, he was already alongside Liam Lawson, who had started one place ahead of him. But from then on, everything went wrong. “Everywhere I wanted to go, in every corner of the first lap, I was literally blocked by someone,” he said. “I just had no space. I lost so many positions in the first lap. It was definitely the worst start ever,” explains Tsunoda, who was gradually overtaken by Franco Colapinto, Lance Stroll, and Gabriel Bortoleto during the first lap.

Tsunoda annoyed: Pace was actually strong

As a result, he was only in 16th place at the end of the first lap, which virtually sealed his fate. “In my position, it was difficult to achieve anything,” said Tsunoda, referring to the Singapore circuit, where overtaking is traditionally difficult.
“So I tried to undercut the cars in front of me,” reported the Japanese driver, who started on soft tires and made his pit stop after just 14 laps. In fact, he managed to move up to P11 at one point, but in the end he finished twelfth without scoring any points.
“To be honest, the pace was one of the best I’ve had so far in my Red Bull career,” Tsunoda said, adding: “I think the most positive thing [about this weekend] was the long run. Until two races ago, I was almost hopeless.“

”But now I had really good pace,“ said Tsunoda, who, according to his own statement, was actually ”very competitive.” However, he was unable to show this because he was in a very poor starting position after a weak qualifying session and a botched start.

Tsunoda: Finally need to bring both together

“I think the key is to bring my pace over one lap and in the long run together,” he explains. Because while his long-run pace was better this time, his pace over one lap wasn’t right. Hence the poor starting position.

“Personally, I was happy with the work he did on Friday,” confirms Laurent Mekies. Tsunoda’s times may not have looked “spectacular,” but his long run was “at the right level,” according to the Red Bull team boss.

“Then Saturday was bad. We need to work with him to understand what went wrong. The first lap today was certainly shocking, but from that point on, I think he drove a very decent race,” he emphasized.

Tsunoda drove back to the front of the field “at a very decent pace.” Looking back, it was certainly Saturday that cost him points in Singapore. After all, Sunday was actually okay after the weak start.

But by then it was already too late to repair the final result.

Siegemund causes bitter tears

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The Wimbledon quarterfinalist upsets top talent Mirra Andrejewa – and is now among the top 16.

Laura Siegemund caused a surprise at the WTA tournament in Wuhan, China, reaching the round of 16. The 37-year-old from Metzingen defeated world number five Mirra Andrejewa 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 after a hard-fought battle – and had her emotions much better under control than the young Russian (18), who repeatedly burst into tears. “I’m just happy. I didn’t think I would survive in these conditions,“ Siegemund said with a laugh, referring to the hot and humid weather: ”I’m glad I stayed focused and played solidly.” Siegemund is the only German player competing in the highly competitive 1000-point tournament in the metropolis of eight million. The Swabian, who took her second match point to win after 3:01 hours of play, will now face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic or Magdalena Frech of Poland in the round of 16.

Siegemund strong at the net

Wimbledon quarterfinalist Siegemund started strongly against the favored Andrejewa and put pressure on the 18-year-old with her varied play. The Swabian held her own from the baseline with good length and moved up to the net whenever the opportunity arose.

At the end of the first set, Andreeva was visibly frustrated with her game, hitting her racket on the ground more often and repeatedly bursting into tears – yet the top talent secured the set in the tiebreak.

Siegemund, however, remained unfazed. The world number 57 played offensively, benefiting from numerous double faults by Andreeva, who was struggling with her emotions, and deservedly took the second set. In the third set, the completely frustrated Andreeva’s will was finally broken, and Siegemund stormed to victory.

Long ban for MMA star McGregor

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The mixed martial arts fighter missed three doping tests in 2024. The ban runs until March 2026, further delaying his return.

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has been banned for 18 months for violating anti-doping reporting requirements. The former UFC champion missed three test appointments last year without correctly reporting his whereabouts. The ban began retroactively on September 20, 2024, and ends on March 20, 2026. The UFC star had recently speculated about a comeback at a gala announced by Donald Trump on June 14, 2026. According to the UFC’s anti-doping program (CSAD), McGregor cooperated fully and presented medical reasons. The originally planned two-year ban was therefore reduced by six months.

McGregor is one of the biggest stars in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in mixed martial arts, where he held several titles. In recent years, however, he has been unable to build on his past successes. He lost three of his last four fights, with his most recent fight taking place in 2021.

Most recently, the 37-year-old has also been in the headlines outside of sports. In Ireland, he lost an appeal in a civil lawsuit over rape allegations and must pay the plaintiff approximately €248,000. The Irishman denies the allegations.

Rodri takes next enforced break in stride – Guardiola smashes record

⁠Manchester City goes into the international break feeling good and with a Guardiola record. And Rodri, who was substituted on Sunday after picking up an injury, also appears to have had a stroke of luck in his misfortune.

On Monday morning, the Spanish Football Federation confirmed what had already been clear in England since the previous evening: Rodri will miss the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia (Saturday) and Bulgaria due to injury – and thus may not be on the pitch to see the reigning European champions secure their ticket to 2026.

But for Manchester City fans, what Rodri himself said after Sunday evening’s 1-0 win at Brentford FC, where he was substituted in the 22nd minute after picking up an injury, was much more important. “I’m fine,” Pep Guardiola’s midfield anchor gave the all-clear. “I felt a slight pull in my Achilles tendon, but it doesn’t seem to be anything serious. I overstretched my leg a little, similar to what happened in the European Championship final.” He hopes to be back in action for the home game against Everton on October 18.

Such problems are simply “part of the process,” said Rodri calmly, who missed almost the entire previous season due to a knee injury. Even coach Guardiola had predicted before the Brentford game that we would only see the “best Rodri” again at the World Cup. “This year is about how you deal with it.” The Catalan has only let his strategist play through twice this season.

Extra praise for Haaland and Donnarumma

Despite Rodri’s early exit, ManCity secured their fourth win in seven league games against Brentford, keeping them in touch with the leading pack. Guardiola, who praised in particular the in-form match-winner Erling Haaland (“now part of the club”) and new keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (“as if he’s been playing soccer for centuries”), set a new record in the process: He achieved his 250th Premier League victory in just 349 games, smashing Sir Alex Ferguson’s record of 404 games. Arsene Wenger is third with 423 games. “I’ll invite them to a nice dinner, maybe not in Manchester, but somewhere sunnier,” Guardiola, who is the best Premier League coach in history with a win rate of 71.6 percent, announced cheerfully to the two coaching legends.

Barcelona can count on Lamine Yamal for El Clásico

Lamine Yamal has missed several games this season due to groin problems, but he is likely to be available for La Liga’s biggest game of the season. He may even return before El Clásico.

Hansi Flick did not want to look for excuses after the bitter 1-4 defeat in Seville, perhaps the worst game under his leadership. However, he did not leave the Catalans’ injury problems entirely uncommented. He said it was “important” that several players would return from injury after the international break, “we need them.”

And none more urgently needed than Lamine Yamal. The 18-year-old missed his fourth league game of the season against Sevilla. He had returned at the end of September and made an important assist as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Real Sociedad. Three days later, he was also involved in the Champions League top match, but then suffered a setback.

Flick spoke of a “complicated injury” ahead of the game against Sevilla. “It’s not easy to say whether he’ll be able to play in two or three weeks.” A statement that caught the attention of Barcelona fans, especially with the first Clasico of the season against Real Madrid coming up on October 26.

Joker against Girona?

But it looks like Yamal won’t miss the showdown. According to Marca, everything points to the attacker being at the Bernabeu. The striker is following a “demanding recovery plan” in Barcelona and, “according to current forecasts,” could even be available as a substitute for the upcoming league match against Girona on October 18. Three days later, the Catalans will be back at home for their Champions League match against Olympiacos Piraeus.

A controversy had erupted between Flick and Spanish national coach Luis de la Fuente over Yamal, as the winger had returned injured after the international break in early September. Flick accused his colleague of playing Yamal despite his pain. De La Fuente, meanwhile, accused Flick of lacking empathy. The conflict has since been resolved.

In addition to Yamal, other important players are currently unavailable for the Catalans. Flick will have to do without Raphinha, Fermin, Gavi, and the two goalkeepers Joan García and Marc-André ter Stegen for the time being.

San Marino on the horizon: Arnautovic chasing Polster’s record

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⁠Austria’s record-breaking player Marko Arnautovic is just three goals away from Toni Polster’s record. Polster has come to terms with losing his prestigious title, but still wants to fight for recognition for three more goals.

On Thursday, Marko Arnautovic will have the opportunity to close in on Toni Polster’s goal record for the Austrian national team—or even equal or surpass it. Arnautovic has scored 41 times for the ÖFB team, three fewer than Polster, and now he could add to his tally against the world’s lowest-ranked team. In the first match against the team from the small country in June, Arnautovic scored twice, but he also missed a penalty.

The 36-year-old is already the ÖFB’s record international with 127 caps. Should he actually catch up with Polster, who holds both prestigious records, a current ÖFB colleague could make it into the top ten in his shadow. Marcel Sabitzer is currently eleventh with 23 goals – just one goal behind Karl Zischek in tenth place. Even Johann Horvath (29), who is currently in fourth place, is within Sabitzer’s reach in the medium term. Other current team players could also move up in the all-time rankings: Michael Gregoritsch is currently 14th (21 goals) and Christoph Baumgartner 15th (19). There is a good chance of increasing their personal goal tallies, as Austria has won all three of its matches against San Marino so far, with a goal difference of 15:1.
A win against the small country would be the ÖFB team’s fifth competitive victory in a row. The last time the team performed so well was during the EURO 2016 qualifiers, when they set the record that still stands today with nine wins in a row. The last time they won five international matches in a row was from October to November 2020, but these were three Nations League matches and two test matches.

Polster continues to demand “that this error be corrected”

Polster has now come to terms with the loss of the prestigious title: “I assume that Marko will break the record. He has played many more games than I did.” The 61-year-old played 95 times for the ÖFB team. “There’s no sadness about it. I’m very, very happy that I held this record for so many years,” said Polster, who has been able to boast the title of record goalscorer since 1996, almost three decades ago. At that time, he surpassed “Goleador” Hans Krankl, who had scored 34 times. If Arnautovic breaks his record, Polster wants to “congratulate him, and that’s it,” as he dryly remarked.
He also plans to fight for official recognition of three of his ÖFB appearances in the 1980s, including three goals, which the ÖFB considers unofficial. Polster sued for retroactive recognition, but the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters rejected the claim in 2024. Specifically, the cases concern the matches Liechtenstein vs. Austria (0-6 on June 7, 1984, in Vaduz, one goal by Polster), Tunisia vs. Austria (1-3 on February 7, 1987, in Tunis, two goals by Polster) and Morocco vs. Austria (3-1 on February 2, 1988, no goal by Polster).

Polster wants to seek a meeting with the new ÖFB Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Pröll. “I hope that he will take up the matter and recognize that it is a mistake on the part of the ÖFB and that this mistake will be corrected,” said Polster, who currently coaches the regional league team Wiener Viktoria. “It also affects ÖFB employees such as Manfred Zsak and Peter Schöttel. I have the feeling that everyone at the ÖFB wants this, except for the lawyer who is being sent in.”

Ceferin regrets: UEFA allows league games to be played abroad

On Monday, UEFA once again took a stand against national league games being played outside Europe, but nevertheless approved the requests from the Spanish and Italian associations to move one match each to Miami and Perth respectively during the current season.

“League matches should be played in their own country; anything else would disadvantage loyal fans and potentially lead to distortions in competition,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin reiterated in a statement on Monday the European football union’s stance against relocating national league matches. “Our consultation has confirmed how significant these concerns are. I would like to thank the 55 national associations for their constructive and responsible engagement on this sensitive matter.”

Nevertheless, at a meeting of its Executive Committee, UEFA approved two requests previously submitted by the Spanish (RFEF) and Italian (FIGC) associations. The RFEF had requested that the La Liga match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona be moved to Miami (USA) in December, while the FIGC requested that the Serie A match between AC Milan and Como 1907, scheduled to take place during the Winter Olympics in Milan, be moved to Perth
(Australia) on February 6. Both requests have now been granted.
The FIFA regulatory framework is not clear and detailed enough

Following the Executive Committee meeting in Tirana, Albania, in September, at which a decision was postponed, UEFA conducted “further consultations with stakeholders.” These confirmed “the widespread rejection of the concept already expressed by fans, other leagues, clubs, players, and European institutions.” However, as “the relevant FIFA regulatory framework, which is currently being revised, is not clear and detailed enough,” the UEFA Executive Committee “reluctantly decided to approve the two applications submitted to it on an exceptional basis.”

“While it is regrettable that these two matches must take place, this decision is an exception and should not be seen as a precedent,” Ceferin assures: “Our commitment is clear: we want to protect the integrity of national leagues and ensure that football remains rooted in its domestic environment.”

UEFA will actively participate in FIFA’s ongoing work to ensure that future rules preserve the integrity of national competitions and the close connection between clubs, their fans, and local communities.