Jorge Martin’s Valencia MotoGP retirement was pre-planned with Aprilia

Jorge Martin has revealed that he and Aprilia had already decided he wouldn’t complete the Valencia Grand Prix, feeling he still wasn’t fit enough to finish a full MotoGP race.

Having skipped the last four rounds of the season due to a collarbone injury, Martin made it to the 15th lap of Sunday’s 27-lap Valencia round before pulling into the pits to retire from the race.

The entire Aprilia crew gave him a round of applause as he stopped outside the garage, as they celebrated his comeback at the end of a wretched season that saw him suffer four separate injuries.

When the 2024 champion dropped to 21st position at the start of the race after deliberately running off track on the opening lap, it was already clear that his intention was to ride at the back to avoid further drama.

But speaking in his post-race media debrief, Martin revealed that even his mid-race withdrawal was pre-planned, as the pain he was still feeling would have made it impossible to reach the finish line.

“I perfectly saw the place to go [in the field] and I just went out of the race [track],” he explained.

“It made no sense for me today to just be in the pack because you also saw [the crash] with [Johann] Zarco and Pecco [Bagnaia]. I didn't want this to happen to me, so I just went out.