Jorge Martin announces plans to stay with Aprilia

A story that has ebbed and flowed over the past few months has now been addressed for the foreseeable future, as Jorge Martin has committed his MotoGP future to Aprilia.

Just a few days ago, it remained unclear where Martin would ride in 2026. But on the eve of his return at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno, the reigning MotoGP champion told the world he will be staying with the Italian company until his contract expires.

That means Martin will see out the remainder of his contract, which finishes at the end of 2026. The decision to stay with Aprilia will be a welcome one for the team, which had no intention of letting the former Ducati star leave before his contract ended.

The rumours about Martin and his future all began a few months ago, when a clause in his contract found its way into the headlines. Martin then made his own statement in response, admitting he wished to exercise said clause in the hope of cutting short his time with Aprilia.

Martin had been linked with a switch to Honda before confirming his intention to remain with the Noale-based company on Thursday.

Martin’s first season with Aprilia has been riddled with injuries, some of which he suffered prior to the season getting underway. He was then hit with a further setback when he fell during his one and only appearance for Aprilia in 2025, at the Qatar MotoGP.

Martin crashed out of the Grand Prix and luckily avoided serious injury after being hit by the oncoming Fabio Di Giannantonio.

“I am really happy to be here again,” said Martin during a special press conference on Thursday in Brno. “It has been a really difficult few months for me, well, not a few months, more like six or seven months. I have been suffering a lot from injuries.

“But I am happy to be here, and happy to be back on my MotoGP bike. Also, I am happy to say that I will be continuing with Aprilia for 2026.”

Martin also went on to clarify the entire situation with Aprilia, saying: “I want to explain everything that has happened, because it will be easier. I think after my first, second and then third injury, everyone became more serious, and I had a lot of doubts.

“Not only around my future, but about myself, about a lot of different things. At that moment, I had to make a decision, that decision was to try with Aprilia for a few more races or activate this clause, which we all knew about.

“Aprilia denied it, which I respect; they were fighting for their rights. From that point, I had to fight for what I thought was best for me, which was to move on to another project.

You can see Martin make his official return to MotoGP action this weekend at the Czech MotoGP, which gets underway today with free practice.

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