Motorcycling-Aprilia's Martin set to return to MotoGP action at Czech Grand Prix
(Reuters) -Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin will make his long-awaited return from injuries at the Czech Grand Prix later this month after he completed a testing session on Wednesday, his team Aprilia said.
Wrist and ankle injuries sustained in a pre-season crash ruled him out of the first three rounds before another crash in his first race on board the Aprilia bike in Qatar in April led to a collapsed lung and bruised ribs.
The 27-year-old was reacquainted with the bike on Wednesday when he completed 64 laps at the Misano circuit and the team is convinced he can compete at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on the weekend of July 18-20, subject to an official medical check.
"It's been a difficult journey... After more than three months I'm back on a MotoGP bike, so I'm super happy," Martin said.
"It's a pity that I was injured so many times that we didn't make (race) the whole season, but now we are back. This is the most important thing and (I am) really looking forward to coming back really soon because the feeling today was great.
"The plan is to come back in Brno, so I hope everything goes well during this week and I can train in normal circumstances."
Although Martin was happy to hop back on the bike, he has made clear his intention to leave Aprilia ahead of the 2026 season.
However, Aprilia said they were ready to go to court if needed as they expect the Spaniard to honour his two-year contract.
Martin will miss this weekend's German Grand Prix, the halfway mark of the season. Ducati's Marc Marquez leads the riders' championship with 307 points while his brother Alex of Gresini Racing is 68 points behind in second.
Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi is sixth in the championship, 186 points behind Marc Marquez.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Toby Davis)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
17 minutes ago
- The Star
Soccer-Hampton the hero as England triumph in crazy shootout
ZURICH (Reuters) -England secured their spot in the Euro 2025 semi-finals on Thursday after a wild penalty shootout that stretched to 14 players, saw more misses than goals and ended when teenager Smilla Holmberg fired Sweden's seventh attempt over the bar. England had come from 2-0 down to force extra time but no further goals led to one of the most extraordinary shootouts ever seen at a major tournament. It went on for so long that it seems incredible that the final score was only 3-2. England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton turned out to be the unlikely hero having been thrust into the spotlight in her first major tournament after the experienced Mary Earps announced her international retirement just weeks before the tournament. The 24-year-old Hampton, playing with a bloodied nose stuffed with gauze after taking a hit to the face minutes earlier, made two diving saves in the shootout, but she was also aided by a Sweden team that missed three - two of them sailing miles over the bar. Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in England's 2022 final victory over Germany, were on target but Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk saved poorly-struck attempts from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton. With the incredulous crowd wondering if anyone would score, Lucy Bronze limped up to the spot minutes after she had been on her back strapping her own thigh while England's physios were busy elsewhere. Having seen a succession of weakly-hit penalties saved, Bronze removed the strapping before stepping up to slam her attempt home with unstoppable power. "I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game and I thought I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going, but I thought (the bandage) is going to hinder me in a penalty," Bronze said. "I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty, so I didn't take it off. And then it was my penalty, I thought 'I need to take this off because I'm going to absolutely smack it'." That left 18-year-old Holmberg needing to score for Sweden but she blazed over the crossbar to end the incredible contest. "Stressful. Stressful watching, stressful playing," said Hampton. "Every time I saved one I was thinking 'please just put it in so we have a bit of a cushion'. Their keeper then just went and saved the next one and I was thinking 'oh goodness, here we go.' "Me and nosebleeds never go well. Me and the doctor have had some great history in the past with having to go to hospital and stuff so as soon as he came over he was thinking 'not again'. "I think I was better in the game when I had one nostril than when I was completely fine! Just happy and relieved now." (Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
England Win Epic Shootout vs Sweden to Reach Euro 2025 Semis
ENGLAND secured their spot in the Euro 2025 semi-finals on Thursday after a wild penalty shootout that stretched to 14 players, saw more misses than goals and ended when Sweden's Smilla Holmberg fired Sweden's seventh attempt over the bar. England had come from 2-0 down to force extra time but no further goals led to one of the most extraordinary shootouts ever seen at a major tournament. It went on so long that it seems incredible that the final score was only 3-2. England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton turned out to be the unlikely hero having been thrust into the spotlight in her first major tournament after the experienced Mary Earps announced her international retirement just weeks before the tournament. The 24-year-old Hampton, playing with a bloodied nose stuffed with gauze after taking a hit to the face minutes earlier, made two diving saves in the shootout, but she was also aided by a Sweden team that missed three - two of them sailing miles over the bar. Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in England's 2022 final victory over Germany, were on target but Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk saved poorly-struck attempts from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton. With the incredulous crowd wondering if anyone would score, Lucy Bronze limped up to the spot minutes after she had been on her back strapping her own thigh while England's physios were busy elsewhere. Having seen a succession of weakly-hit penalties saved, Bronze slammed hers home with unstoppable power. Holmberg then had to score for Sweden but blazed over, to bring an end to an incredible contest. 'Stressful. Stressful watching, stressful playing,' said Hampton. 'Every time I saved one I was thinking 'please just put it in so we have a bit of a cushion'. Their keeper then just went and saved the next one and I was thinking 'oh goodness, here we go.' 'Me and nosebleeds never go well. Me and the doctor have had some great history in the past with having to go to hospital and stuff so as soon as he came over he was thinking 'not again'. I'm better with one nostril now. 'I think I was better in the game when I had one nostril than when I was completely fine! Just happy and relieved now.' - REUTERS
The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
Hampton the hero as England triumph in crazy shootout
ENGLAND secured their spot in the Euro 2025 semi-finals on Thursday after a wild penalty shootout that stretched to 14 players, saw more misses than goals and ended when Sweden's Smilla Holmberg fired Sweden's seventh attempt over the bar. England had come from 2-0 down to force extra time but no further goals led to one of the most extraordinary shootouts ever seen at a major tournament. It went on so long that it seems incredible that the final score was only 3-2. England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton turned out to be the unlikely hero having been thrust into the spotlight in her first major tournament after the experienced Mary Earps announced her international retirement just weeks before the tournament. The 24-year-old Hampton, playing with a bloodied nose stuffed with gauze after taking a hit to the face minutes earlier, made two diving saves in the shootout, but she was also aided by a Sweden team that missed three - two of them sailing miles over the bar. Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in England's 2022 final victory over Germany, were on target but Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk saved poorly-struck attempts from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton. With the incredulous crowd wondering if anyone would score, Lucy Bronze limped up to the spot minutes after she had been on her back strapping her own thigh while England's physios were busy elsewhere. Having seen a succession of weakly-hit penalties saved, Bronze slammed hers home with unstoppable power. Holmberg then had to score for Sweden but blazed over, to bring an end to an incredible contest. 'Stressful. Stressful watching, stressful playing,' said Hampton. 'Every time I saved one I was thinking 'please just put it in so we have a bit of a cushion'. Their keeper then just went and saved the next one and I was thinking 'oh goodness, here we go.' 'Me and nosebleeds never go well. Me and the doctor have had some great history in the past with having to go to hospital and stuff so as soon as he came over he was thinking 'not again'. I'm better with one nostril now. 'I think I was better in the game when I had one nostril than when I was completely fine! Just happy and relieved now.' - REUTERS
