It was a double dose of good news for Jorge Martin and Aprilia Racing at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria after the MotoGP World Championship leader said post-Grand Prix that surgery won’t be needed, after enduring arm pump issues in Sunday’s battle a week earlier at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. 

Martin, who finished P5 at the San Marino Grand Prix after leading the early exchanges, said Saturday at the Red Bull Ring will be a huge test of his arm's condition, and whether surgery will be required ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Thankfully, having clinched pole position, Tissot Sprint gold, and then a Sunday 20-pointer to retake the title race lead from Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Austria, Martin won’t be needing an operation ahead of five Grands Prix in six weeks, starting at the Mobility Resort Motegi.

“I'm happy. I think the condition is difficult for sure because I'm not at my 100%, but I'm feeling much better than I felt in Misano,” explained the 2024 World Champion in his post-race interview.

“So we are in the right direction. I won't go into surgery tomorrow (Monday). We will try to continue like this. Now I'll try to rest, recover well from these two races that were so hard physically, and we move on to the Asian tour in great shape, understanding the bike a bit more, and I think this is good news because having surgery is a big risk also."

A weekend off arrives before the MotoGP circus flies to Japan to kickstart the crucial, unpredictable, and mouthwatering stretch of Grands Prix that will see this enthralling 2026 title chase continue.

Landing in Motegi, Martin has a 12-point advantage over Marc Marquez, while the #89’s teammate, Marco Bezzecchi, is 42 points adrift in third place.