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Jorge Martin finally made his entrance into the Aprilia pit box at a Grand Prix, albeit only as a spectator. The world champion flew to Austin to closely observe the team's work, in anticipation of trying to race in two weeks, in Qatar. "I'm glad to be here, I also missed the journalists, although it's hard to think about it," jokes Martin. The worst is over, although he still can't say he's in perfect shape.
"I 'm definitely not in my best moment, I'm not 100 percent, but I'm healing well, faster than the doctors told me," he says with satisfaction, "It's good news, I would like to ride, but being here means I'm getting closer and closer to doing it. I wanted to spend time with the team to at least understand how they work, so when I come back it won't all be completely new. I'm not on the bike, but it's already like I'm racing."
When will you be back, in Qatar?
"It looks like it will be, but I won't ride any bikes till that moment because I don't want to have the same happen again. Imagine I go training next week and I break my head or my neck! (laughs). So I will wait until Qatar. Maybe I go there, ride and cannot continue. For sure I won't be at 100% but I will maybe try to race."
How have you dealt with the two injuries?
"Every injury is different. The first one was the consequence of a strange crash and I broke three bones, but after 7 or 8 days I was back on the bike. It took me very little time, so from a mental point of view it was not a problem. However, when I fell again, on the Monday before I left for Thailand, it was very heavy. I was scared because I felt my hand was in a really bad situation, like never before. Normally, after the surgery you start to move a bit or you start to feel something, but it wasn't like that. For two weeks I couldn't move the left hand so it was difficult on the mental side, I was scared I might not ride again. But after two, three weeks I started to see the light and I knew that in the long term it wouldn't be a problem, but now for sure I don't feel at my best. Let's see how it is when I ride."
What happened in that crash in training?
"I high-sided really really fast. I was just exiting from one corner in fourth gear. I was already straight when I touched an outside curb. It was a really big crash. And I broke my foot again. 4 bones in my foot and 3 new bones in my hand."
What is your condition right now?
"I can move my hand, but I can't put any weight on it. The problem is not only the scaphoid, but also the radius head, which broke into three pieces. I don't know which bone fracture is worse, but with both you can't put weight on the bike and I think it's one of the worst injuries for a rider."
Does this moment also help you grow?
"You learn a lot mentally, you understand that eventually everything passes. It was my attitude because you always have to learn from what happens to you. It was a combination of things because I got injured changing bikes and didn't even do a day of testing, now I'm happy because that moment is ending."
What's your take on this start of the championship?
"From home it's hard to see clearly what's going on and I was always in contact with my team, with Daniele (Romagnoli, ed.), with Fabiano (Sterlacchini, ed.), with Massimo (Rivola, ed.). I was trying to understand how the bike was going, in the straights, in braking, in acceleration, and I feel that the potential of the Aprilia is much better than last season. They were not very lucky in Argentina, but in Thailand Ogura was impressive."
What about Marc Marquez?
"I didn't have many doubts after what he did in his first year with Ducati, now he is in his second and he is in the factory team: he has everything to win. I, however, am following Aprilia, my bike, very closely."
Is Marquez the benchmark right now?
"I hope to be one of the riders who can beat him, but I think at the moment, even if I were on the track, it would be impossible. I have to be realistic: I have 5 or 6 thousand fewer kilometers than the other riders, I come from an injury and I have a completely new bike for me. I will have to focus only on myself."
