Andrew McLarneyMotoGP Reporter
Andrew McLarney is an accredited MotoGP reporter with four years experience as a professional writer across the sports and video game industries. His experience as a K1 Premier League competitor evolved into a fascination with all forms of combat sport and eventually motorsport — with MotoGP becoming his primary focus. On top of that he is also an avid follower of MXGP and AMA Supercross/Motocross.
Jorge Martin has apologised after attacking his own race engineer, Paolo Bonora, during a chaotic and heated Catalan Grand Prix. The Spanish rider was seen shoving Bonora after being taken out by satellite Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez on the second red flag restart.
The 2026 Catalan Grand Prix will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as severe injuries for Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco somewhat overshadowed an impressive win for Fabio Di Giannantonio and a first-ever MotoGP win for the VR46 team.
Martin, who entered the weekend just one point behind teammate and championship rival Marco Bezzecchi, looked like he was going to dominate the weekend at the start of Friday practice, but a heavy crash left him with a concussion during the FP1 session. Nonetheless, 'The Martinator' continued and took part in the afternoon practice where he crashed yet again and was forced to fight for a top place in Q1. He then crashed again in Q2 and again during the sprint race, and it was perhaps an omen for the darker weekend which was to come.
Following the two red flags after Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco both suffered horrific crashes in separate incidents, Martin had made up a lot of ground and was in P2 after the second restart. He was then taken out in a battle with Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez and ultimately scored no points through the weekend.
Martin Attacks His Own Race Engineer
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Upon returning back to the garage, Martin could be seen raving at his Aprilia team boss, Massimo Rivola, before shoving Bonora in a heated exchange. He was quick to apologise for the outburst:
"Today my story is completely secondary, my thoughts are with Alex and to Johann," said the Number 89, "I also want to say that I'm really disappointed about how I entered the box.[...] I went to apologise to Paolo Bonora because I pushed him, but this was completely unnecessary."
The incident certainly won't help relations inside the Aprilia garage, which are already tenuous after Jorge Martin attempted to exit his contract with the team last year before completing a single race. While he is likely to depart the team at the end of the season, he could do so as the championship winner once again, just as he did previously with the Pramac Ducati team in 2024.
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