Jorge Martin is finally back. Since the Brazilian Grand Prix, he’s been on the podium in every race, with the icing on the cake being his victory in the Sprint race at Austin. It wasn’t a given however, because the Spaniard went through a real ordeal all last year, with constant injuries and surgeries. This 2026 season also got off to a late start; at the end of last year, he decided to go back under the knife to permanently fix his scaphoid and clavicle fractures.
He had to skip the Sepang tests, but the decision is paying off. This is also thanks to an almost perfect Aprilia, which already feels like his own despite the fact that he was only able to ride it for a short time. Furthermore, Bezzecchi is giving him a hand.
Jorge had already declared at Goiana:“Marco is a great teammate; we help each other and don’t hide anything from one another.” In Texas, it was even clearer. The cameras captured the conversation between Martin and Bagnaia on the caddy taking them to the sprint race podium. The Spaniard confessed to the Piedmontese rider:“I follow Bez. Whatever he does, I do.”
It’s the right strategy, because Martin knows that right now he still lacks experience on the RS-GP and is taking advantage of the opportunity to have a rider by his side who is one with that bike.
That’s not all, because Martin also pointed out a shortcoming of the Desmosedici, a bike he knows very well:“You’ve lost downforce.” Bagnaia didn’t respond, but the Spaniard seems to have hit the nail on the head. The Ducati’s aerodynamics haven’t undergone any major changes in two years; the latest update was seen in Austin: a tail section that, coincidentally, closely resembles the one used by Aprilia, and wings under the seat—another innovation introduced by Noale.