MotoGP drama: Jorge Martin set to move to Honda HRC to join LeMans winner in 2026

Highlights

• Rumours say Jorge Martin is set to leave Aprilia by the middle of the 2025 MotoGP season.
• The Honda HRC team will be his next target for 2026.
• Martin is out after he suffered a big injury during the 2025 Qatar GP race.

Drama is building up in the Aprilia camp as reigning world champion Jorge Martin is set to leave the Aprilia Racing team prematurely after racing for just one race in Qatar. The Spanish rider had a big injury during the pre-season testing session in Malaysia. After that, he underwent surgery and missed out on the first few races. 

Martin returned for the Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail circuit, but fate followed him as he again crashed and broke his ribs. With this injury, he is unlikely to return this year, and there is no chance of him defending his MotoGP world title against the Mighty Ducatis. Jorge Martin also doesn't have enough confidence with the Aprilia Racing team, as they are the only manufacturers who haven't scored podiums this year.

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Jorge Martin at Honda HRC in 2026?

Their other rider, Marco Bezzecchi, is also not comfortable with the bike. There are now rumours regarding Martin's Aprilia contract, and it is now said that the Spanish rider is prematurely exiting the team by using a clause in his contract. He is set to move to the Honda Factory team, which is showing great promise with a recent victory at Le Mans. Rumours say his dear friend and former Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro is the one behind this decision.

Espargaro is now the test rider for the Honda racing team, and he is the big decision-maker in Martin’s career, as he is the one who brought him to Aprilia Racing after he was denied the Ducati factory seat against Marc Marquez. As Honda’s progress in MotoGP is looking promising and secure, Martin feels racing for the Japanese manufacturer would be a better choice than the problematic Aprilia bike. 

Even before the Grand Prix of France, there were rumours regarding Martin’s Aprilia contract. Jorge Martin is the first rider in the MotoGP era to win a world title for an independent racing team after Valentino Rossi. He deserved to be in the championship race, but with the package he gets in Aprilia, it is not possible for him to even reach the podium.

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