Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin says he can “perceive” to some extent the destructive public backlash he obtained for attempting to interrupt out of his Aprilia contract for 2026.
The Spaniard hit the headlines in Could when, whereas nonetheless on the sidelines with damage, he made a go to to the French Grand Prix to be able to inform Aprilia he wished to activate a efficiency clause in his contract to interrupt free for the 2026 season.
This started a weeks-long standoff, the place Aprilia publicly acknowledged that the contract could be honoured till the top of subsequent 12 months whereas the Jorge Martin camp repeatedly claimed he had a authorized proper to depart.
The dispute reached its crescendo in the course of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, after Martin’s supervisor Albert Valera advised the MotoGP world feed that his rider was “freed from contract” for 2026.
Aprilia then threatened to escalate this to the courts.
The Martin camp is known to have tried to push Aprilia to take action as shortly as doable, which the Italian marque declined to do, realizing that drawing out the method would solely be to its profit.
Forward of his return to racing on the Czech Grand Prix previous to the summer time break, Martin confirmed he could be staying at Aprilia for the remainder of his contract.
Throughout this dispute, Martin obtained plenty of backlash from followers and media alike, largely for attempting to activate a efficiency clause a couple of bike he’d barely ridden in 2025 attributable to a number of accidents.
Talking on this in the course of the Czech Grand Prix weekend, Martin mentioned: “Effectively, I imply, for positive followers are tremendous essential.
“Followers are the engine of our sport, of our lives. With out them it might be unimaginable to maintain operating these bikes.
“However in some unspecified time in the future I can perceive their opinion.
“However the one factor I can say I did what I believed was higher for my life, for my future, and that’s it.
“I hope that a few of them will come again to my aspect.
“However really I don’t actually look into the criticism and I simply keep targeted on my individuals and my household to be sturdy.”
In the course of the British Grand Prix, a spokesperson from Aprilia advised Crash.web that it wasn’t happy to see the destructive reception Martin had been getting on social media.
Following his race return at Brno, through which he was a aggressive seventh from twelfth on the grid, Martin mentioned that he felt “at house” with the crew.
