Martin never thought ‘Why is this happening to me?’ in injury-ridden 2025 campaign

Jorge Martin says he never slipped into a ‘Why is this happening to me?’ mindset during his injury-ridden 2025 MotoGP season, choosing instead to analyse the causes and move forward.

Martin’s high-profile move from Pramac to Aprilia has proven disastrous so far, with the Spaniard suffering no fewer than four injuries over the course of 2025 and ending the year 21st in the standings.

Things went awry before even the first race of the season, as Martin crashed on the opening day of testing and then picked up another injury during training. That delayed his Aprilia debut to the fourth round in Qatar, but another accident led to 11 rib fractures and sidelined him from competition for an extended period.

He finally returned eight races later in Brno and began building speed again, but a mistake at the start of the Motegi sprint sent him back to the hospital with yet another injury.

Off-track drama, including an unsuccessful attempt to extricate himself from his Aprilia contract to join a resurgent factory Honda team, compounded the misery of his title defence.

While Martin previously opened up about how tough 2025 had been for him, he insists he never dwelled on self-pity while recovering at home or in the hospital.

“No, [there wasn’t] any point I thought ‘How is this happening to me?’ because it is what it is,” he said. 

“The important thing is that I always learned from what happened. The important thing is to close the season knowing what happened this year and why it happened, so it doesn't happen again in the future. And that's it. I don't want to think a lot about the situation.

“I can look forward, get ready for next season. And that's why I wanted to be here [in Valencia] and start making set-ups."

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Martin arrived at Aprilia this year as the reigning MotoGP champion after defeating factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia in a straight duel last year.

The Noale-based marque didn’t set the world alight at the start of the campaign, but mid-season updates transformed the RS-GP’s fortunes and turned it into a multiple race winner.

However, Martin was never in a position to capitalise on Aprilia’s improved form, having only started seven grands prix in his injury-ridden campaign. A fourth-place finish in Hungary was his only standout result of the year.

Asked what the biggest lesson he learned in 2025 was, the 27-year-old said: “For me, maybe to not do more than what I need to do. Sometimes I still didn't know the bike and I was trying to push more than what I had to, and that's why I crashed. I think this is the main thing. 

“In Valencia, I didn't win, I didn't make the top 10, but I think I did what I had to do, so this is what I need to focus on and to continue this way.

He added: “You cannot change what is going on or the past, you just can focus on going forward. 

“This year was a really difficult season for me. Sometimes there is a bump but it won't define my career, so, for sure, I will be back to my full potential. We know the bike is really fast, so I think together we can be super competitive.”