Jorge Martín penalized but secures Q2 at Jerez: "I'll have to be careful"

The Spanish Grand Prix is ​​not starting under the best auspices for Jorge Martín, who made two mistakes in front of his home crowd and is still hampered by some weaknesses in his left hand.

Early in the morning, Martín was involved in a strange incident during practice starts, making an unnecessary mistake. This is already the second such incident this season for the Spaniard, following his spectacular crash during a celebratory wheelie after his Sprint victory in Austin. His second, more serious crash occurred midway through the practice session at Turn 13.

« Luckily, I have an amazing team. They were able to fix my bike after the morning session. It didn't seem like much, but it was still pretty important. I had problems with this bike, and then I crashed the other one, so it was a bit of a mess., admits number 89 to the media present on site, including AUTOhebdo. I made mistakes, but the lack of temperature played a role. Nothing to worry about. If we have the same weather tomorrow, I'll have to be careful. »

The Martinator has crashed twice today! 🫨#SpanishGP #JorgeMartin #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/VxHfBwoMrY

— CANAL+ MotoGP™ (@CanalplusMotoGP) April 24, 2026

Despite these setbacks, he managed to secure ninth place in Practice, thus guaranteeing direct access to Q2. In the final stint, everything fell into place. I was able to record two good laps. Enough to get through to Q2 "That's great," rejoiced the Madrid native. A crucial step, because regardless of his qualifying performance, Jorge Martín will have to drop three positions on the starting grid on Sunday.

Jorge Martín penalized

This penalty was imposed by the stewards for adopting a pace that was too slow on the ideal racing line during FP1, impeding Alex Márquez in the process. On a circuit like Jerez, where starting position often determines the final result, this handicap will weigh heavily on his quest to climb back up the standings.

« We're making progress with the soft tire. I only managed to get into Q2 with one flying lap because I had some issues. I'm happy; it's an acceptable result. We need to keep improving. “, he insists.

Aprilia didn't set the fastest time in any session on Friday, yet for the first time since the 2024 Aragon GP, ​​all four Noale bikes advanced directly to Q2. This show of strength puts the Italian team in a strong position to be the favorite for pole position, as highlighted by Alex Márquez, who expects Noale to raise the bar even further in qualifying.

Interview by Luca Bartolomeo, in Jerez de la Frontera.

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