Martin plans latest MotoGP return at Valencia finale

World champion Jorge Martin will travel to Valencia this weekend in the hopes of returning to MotoGP action at the season finale there.

The Aprilia star has been out since his first-lap accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in September. The resulting collarbone injury was the latest in a series of disruptions to his first season with the factory Aprilia team.

Now, according to a brief Aprilia statement, the Spaniard will make his way to Valencia with a view to returning to the track on the weekend.

“Jorge Martin will travel to Valencia for the Valencian Grand Prix,” read the release. “He will still need to undergo evaluation by the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Medical Team in order to receive clearance to race.”

With Martin’s stand-in, Lorenzo Savadori, having said numerous farewells in the paddock following last weekend’s race in Portugal, it appears the medical check is being seen as a formality.

Should Martin race in Spain, it will be only the eighth time in 22 races that Aprilia fields its nominated 2025 rider line-up. While Martin has spent most of the year on the sidelines, Marco Bezzecchi has not missed a race. The Italian scored his second grand prix win of the season in Portugal.

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

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

Another injured rider, Maverick Vinales, is also expected to return to racing at Valencia. The Tech3 KTM rider sustained an injury at the mid-season German Grand Prix and, following an initial return, opted for further rest and recovery, starting at last month’s Indonesian Grand Prix.

Vinales had planned to come back to action in Portugal, but then decided to give the injury a few days longer to heal ahead of Valencia.

The finale is an important weekend because of the test that follows on the Tuesday after the race. Martin, Vinales and the rest of the grid will be looking forward to a first chance to try out their 2026 machinery.

But reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will not race or test in Valencia as he continues his recovery from a right shoulder injury sustained in a crash with Bezzecchi in Indonesia.

The Ducati rider is expected to attend the Valencia GP as an onlooker, as well as the championship presentation in Valencia on the Sunday night after the race.