Aprilia and Michelin at odds over cause of Martin’s Sepang crash

Aprilia has indirectly pinpointed the blame on Michelin for Jorge Martin’s violent crash at the start of MotoGP pre-season testing in Malaysia, but the French tyre supplier has ruled itself out of any responsibility.

Martin landed face-first after suffering a highside at the second turn of the Sepang International Circuit, suffering a single fracture on his right hand and multiple fractures on his left foot.

The reigning champion had to withdraw from the remainder of the test to fly to Barcelona and undergo surgery on both his broken hand and foot and is likely to miss next week’s test at Buriram as well.

Aprilia stated that its initial analysis had ruled out both mechanical problems and rider error, stating that the crash “apparently [happened] for no reason”.

However, intriguingly, it also had requested answers from Michelin about the age of the tyres Martin was riding on.

“The only thing I asked Michelin for is the history of the [rear] compound. I wouldn’t like to know that it had been stored for 11 months,” Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola said, implying that the [medium] tyre Martin was running when he crashed could explain the crash.

If Rivola did not want to be more explicit in putting the blame, it was likely because he knows the political power Michelin has in MotoGP. Before the start of last season, all teams had received a letter from the IRTA giving them a series of recommendations in case of a defective tyre.

In this particular case, Michelin not only had no problem in acknowledging that the rear tyre used at the time of the accident was indeed manufactured in 2024, but even traced the route it took to being fitted on to the bike.

“The rubber was produced in Clermont Ferrand (France) shortly before last year’s Dutch Grand Prix (30 June). It was taken to Assen but was not used there. It was stored and brought here for the test,” said Piero Taramasso, Michelin’s racing manager.

“All this time it has been in a temperature-controlled container. The evidence doesn’t indicate that there was any problem. Maybe it was the temperature, which was lower than normal, that influenced the fact that the tyre was still cold.

“Jorge is one of those riders who, if he had noticed something strange, would have immediately asked for a tyre change, but he went on and did 13 laps.”

Martin’s road to recovery

After spending the night under observation at a hospital close to Sepang, Martin is now on his way back to Europe, where he will undergo surgery on the fractured little finger on his right hand in the next few hours. The three fractures he also sustained in the third, fourth and fifth metatarsal of his left foot will be treated with a more conservative recovery treatment.

Once he is out of the first surgery, he will be operated on by Dr Xavier Mir in Barcelona, before a clearer estimate of how long he will be out of action can be made.

Given his injuries, it’s unlikely he will be back on track until at least the first race of the season, scheduled for 1-2 March in Buriram.

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

If he misses the rest of pre-season testing, he will head to the Thai round with only 90 laps on the Aprilia, 77 of which were completed in the test at Barcelona two days after he was crowned 2024 MotoGP world champion.

It seems too early for Martín to be able to take part in the Buriram test on 12-13 February, while his presence in Bangkok for the season launch event is also in doubt.

Martin suffered two crashes at the start of the Sepang test on Wednesday. He fell both times on the same bike and with the same specification of tyres.

After an initial four-lap stint on the bike with which he finished the Barcelona test with, he switched to a more evolved version of the RS-GP and crashed twice.

He did three laps in a row and crashed at Turn 1. After picking up the Aprilia from the ground, he returned to the garage and set off again. He completed a flying lap, and at Turn 2 of the second lap, he suffered the accident that took him straight to hospital.

Photos from Sepang Test – Day 2