Man arrested following theft of Jorge Martin's training bike from the MotoGP paddock!
The man apparently dressed like a KTM mechanic to gain entry to the MotoGP paddock before breaking into Jorge Martin’s motorhome.
Jorge Martin was involved in an unusual heist at the final round of the MotoGP championship, after a man, posing as a KTM team mechanic, forced entry into the 2024 Champion’s motorhome.
The incident, which was recorded on the circuit's CCTV network, showed the 44-year-old man gaining entry to the paddock area of the circuit - a place where security is usually extremely high. Once there, it’s reported that he lurked around the rider and team motorhomes, eventually selecting the motorhome of Aprilia’s Jorge Martin as his target.
After forcing entry to the truck, the thief made off with a rare, custom Pinarello bicycle, thought to be worth between €15,000 and €20,000. Still wearing his KTM-branded kit, the man then brazenly pushed the bike through the busy paddock and eventually left the circuit.
Fortunately, for the police and Martin, the man didn’t remove the KTM clothing, and was traced to a nearby petrol station and could still be seen in possession of the bike. From there, police were able to track the man to his home in Madrid and make the arrest.
Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the thief’s first high-level and brazen act. He’s also reported to have stolen a car from a dealership, and at the time of the theft of Martin’s Pinarello, it’s thought he had just been released from prison. The bike is apparently now winging its way back to the MotoGP racer, to enable him to focus on his winter training.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
