Jorge Martin to face severe repercussions for double Aprilia crash in Hungary

Just as he did in the Japanese sprint race last year, Aprilia's Jorge Martin once again made a catastrophic error with a Turn 1 crash which happened to take out his teammate and cost the team a whole heap of points. The 2024 World Champion, who usually displays exceptional talent and one of the most dramatic riding styles on the entire MotoGP grid, has been prone to errors this year - and even so he is still in the fight for the championship, trailing Bezzecchi by just 20 points in the overall standings.

While Martin took to instagram to present his official public apology for the crash, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola was less than impressed with his Spanish rider, even going so far as to call the crash 'stupid'.

It's safe to say that Jorge Martin and Aprilia don't have the best of rider-team relationships. Having won the 2024 title with Ducati's satellite Pramac team, Martin then signed a two-year deal with Aprilia, which he quickly tried to cancel once he was severely injured in pre-season testing of 2025. The fiasco was made worse at the start of 2026 when Rivola stated that Aprilia had 'yet to see Jorge's talent' while simultaneously signing teammate Bezzecchi to a long-term deal.

After the Hungary crash, Rivola made a point of expressing his disappointment in the incident, and stated that it was 'not something a world champion can do.' Furthermore, he compared the disaster of the weekend to that of Mugello, where the team recorded arguably their greatest achievement so far with a 1-2 finish at their home race in Italy:

"From the best Sunday and weekend in Mugello to the worst Sunday. After the emotions experienced in Mugello, this is a cold shower that we truly could have done without. I’m saddened by what happened - clearly both Marco and Raúl were not at all at fault, and I also apologise to Team Trackhouse and the other riders involved. We know that there is always a dose of risk in racing, but I think knowing how to safely tackle the first turn is of utmost importance. Jorge’s mistake is a difficult one to digest."

As a result of the wreckless collision, which the FIM also determined was due to rider error rather than any mechanical issue, Martin has been handed a double-long lap penalty to serve at the next Grand Prix in the Czech Republic at Brno, which he will have to serve on the Sunday race.

This means that, even if Martin qualifies on pole, his chances of winning the race as next to zero as he will be forced to undergo the punishment within the first few laps of the race.