Jorge Martín

Jorge Martín Almoguera (born 29 January 1998), nicknamed the ''Martinator'', is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who rides for Aprilia Racing. He won the 2024 MotoGP World Championship with Prima Pramac Racing, becoming the first independent team rider to win the premier class title in the MotoGP era.

After winning the 2014 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Martin moved to the Moto3 class the following year, winning the title in 2018 with Gresini Racing. He spent two years in Moto2 before moving to the premier class with Prima Pramac Racing in 2021. Martin won the Styrian Grand Prix during his first season in MotoGP, ending his rookie year with four pole positions. He finished runner-up to Francesco Bagnaia in the World Riders' Championship in 2023, but won the MotoGP title the following year.

Career

Moto3 World Championship

Mapfre Team Mahindra (2015)

In 2015, Martín made his full-time Grand Prix debut in the Moto3 World Championship with Mapfre Team Mahindra, riding a Mahindra alongside Francesco Bagnaia and Juanfran Guevara. His best result was a 7th place in Aragon, and managed to score 45 points in his rookie season.

Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team (2016)

Martín remained with the same team for the 2016 Moto3 World Championship. His first-ever Grand Prix podium came in the rain-affected Czech Grand Prix, where he finished second. He closed the season 16th in the standings, scoring 72 points.

Del Conca Gresini Moto3 (2017–2018)

In 2017 Martín moved to the Del Conca Gresini Racing team. His teammate was Fabio Di Giannantonio. He started the season red hot, finishing on the podium the first three races, two third places in Qatar and Argentina, and a second place in the USA. In the middle of the year, Martín grabbed three more 3rd places in Barcelona, Austria, and Silverstone, before finishing the season as he started it. In the three last races, he finished third in Australia, second in Malaysia, and achieved his first victory of the category in the last race at Valencia. Martín secured nine pole positions during the season (Qatar, France, Italy, Barcelona, Holland, Aragon, Australia, and Valencia), earning a reputation as one of the fastest qualifiers in the MotoGP paddock. He finished the season in 4th place with 196 points, despite missing the Czech Grand Prix at the Brno circuit due to an injury sustained in the preceding round.

In 2018, Martín became the world champion in the Moto3 class. He had seven wins (Qatar, America, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Aragon, and Malaysia), two second places in San Marino and Valencia, a third place in Austria, and continued his brilliant Saturday performances, with eleven pole positions.

He earned 260 championship points, 42 more than teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finished runner-up in the championship. Oddly enough, Martín was again forced to miss the Czech Grand Prix, due to a fracture of the left radius, remedied in free practice.

Moto2 World Championship

Red Bull KTM Ajo (2019–2020)

As champion, Martín moved up a category for the 2019 Moto2 World Championship, riding for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport team. He collected a third place in Japan, and a second place in Australia, ending the season in 11th place with 94 points.

=2020

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In 2020, Jorge Martín continued with the Ajo team, which transitioned to using Kalex bikes that season. He had a strong start, securing pole position and finishing third at Jerez. Martín claimed his first Moto2 victory at the Austrian Grand Prix and followed it with a second-place finish at the Styrian Grand Prix the next weekend. However, on 10 September 2020, Martín tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss the next two rounds at Rimini and Misano. After recovering, he concluded the season on a high note with a third-place finish in Aragón, a second place in the first Valencian race, and a victory in the second Valencian race. Martín achieved six podium finishes—two each in first, second, and third places—along with one pole position and 160 points, ultimately ranking 5th in the championship standings.

MotoGP World Championship

Pramac Racing (2021–2024)

= 2021

=
Martín joined the premier class with Pramac Racing Ducati, alongside Johann Zarco who moved from Esponsorama, for the 2021 season. Martín started with finishing 15th in his first race of the premier class, then scored a pole position in the second round of the year in Qatar, finishing the race in 3rd place, and scoring his first MotoGP podium. Unfortunately, he had a serious accident during the practice before the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix, and was forced to miss the Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian races, being replaced for the first two rounds by Tito Rabat, and the latter two by Michele Pirro. Martín was originally meant to return for the Italian Grand Prix, but due to advise by doctors he forwent the race. He made a full return in the Catalan Grand Prix, finishing 14th, before a 12th place finish at the German Grand Prix, and a retirement at the Dutch GP, after he was having physical issues with his biceps and also having tendinitis. At the Styrian GP, Martín took his second pole position, and following a red flag incident, he took his maiden MotoGP win in the re-started race. With this victory, he earned Pramac Racing's first ever MotoGP victory, and became just the third rider in the modern 1000cc era, to win a race in his rookie season, after Marc Márquez in 2013, and Brad Binder in 2020. The very next weekend, he grabbed his third pole position of the season in Austria, and his third podium too, finishing the race in third. In the season closer at Valencia, Martín scored his fourth pole position, and his fourth podium, finishing the race in second place. When on pole position, he never finished off the podium, collecting 111 points, enough for 9th in the championship, and won rookie of the year by 9 points over Enea Bastianini.

= 2022

=

Martín and Zarco remained with Pramac Racing for the 2022 MotoGP season. At the 2022 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Martín took pole, and broke the all-time lap at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. He also seized pole position in Qatar, America, Malaysia, and Valencia. Ending the season with 9th place, Martín scored podiums in Argentina, Barcelona, Japan, and Valencia.

= 2023

=
Pramac Racing retained Martín and Zarco for the 2023 MotoGP World Championship.

Over the early and middle phases of the season, Martín established himself as a firm championship contender, along with world champion Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi after wins in Germany and San Marino. Said championship challenge was strengthened by championship leader Bagnaia's crash at the Indian Grand Prix, after which Martín only trailed the championship lead by 13 points. Martín briefly took the championship lead after the sprint race at the Indonesian Grand Prix, but the lead was ceded back to Bagnaia after he crashed out of the lead of the main race, which was eventually won by Bagnaia. For the rest of the season, Martín remained a challenger for the championship until the final round, and his crash in the main race at the Valencian Community Grand Prix officially ended his championship challenge. Ultimately, Martín finished 39 points behind Bagnaia, placing him a personal-best 2nd in the riders' championship.

2024

For most of 2024, Martín remained a consistent challenger for the world championship title. He only finished off the feature race podium 4 times in 20 races, and the sprint podium 3 times. Although chief rival Bagnaia won 11 feature races, Martín's consistency would keep him as the main obstacle to Bagnaia's charge for a third successive world title. This was complemented by main race victories in Portugal, France, and Indonesia, and 7 sprint race wins.

Although Bagnaia completed a perfect weekend in Barcelona, winning both the sprint and Grand Prix from pole position, but two third places for Jorge Martín were sufficient to crown him as the 2024 champion, with 508 points to Bagnaia's 498. Ducati completed the season with 722 points out of a possible maximum of 740 (97.6%) to win the constructor's championship.
This achievement made Martín a satellite team racer who was able to win the MotoGP world title. Since MotoGP entered the 4-stroke era in 2002, the world championship title has always been won by racers from factory teams. Martín made history in the 2024 season as the first non-factory rider to win the world title in the MotoGP era, and the first since Valentino Rossi in 2001 to win the title with a satellite team.

Aprilia Racing (2025–)

With the prospect of Marc Márquez moving to Ducati Corse, Martín confirmed his move to fellow Italian factory team Aprilia Racing, after Italian Grand Prix, on a two-year deal. He will be replacing his mentor and long time friend Aleix Espargaró who announced his retirement from Grand Prix racing at the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix.

During pre-season testing Martin had two separate accidents that caused serious injury to his left wrist, causing him to miss the opening three rounds in Thailand, Argentine and the Americas. He was replaced at those races by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori. Martin returned at the race in Qatar after being cleared by a medical official.

Jorge Martín started his first race of the 2025 season at the Qatar GP, after missing the first three races. However, on lap 14, he lost control while maneuvering through a corner and was subsequently struck by another rider’s bike. As a result, he suffered a fractured rib and a pneumothorax. Further medical evaluation revealed 11 fractured ribs and a developing hemopneumothorax, requiring chest drainage and hospitalization. He will remain under care at Hamad General Hospital in Doha, Qatar, until his lung condition improves.

Career statistics

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Season still in progress.

Records

As of 9 April 2025, Jorge Martín holds the following records:

MotoGP
* Most points scored in a single season: 508 (2024)
* Most sprint race wins: 16
* Most sprint race podiums: 30

Moto3
* Most pole positions: 20
* Most pole positions in a single season: 11 (2018)
* Most consecutive pole positions: 5 (2017)
* Most wins from pole position: 7

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jorge
1998 births
Living people
Spanish motorcycle racers
Moto3 World Championship riders
Motorcycle racers from Madrid
Moto2 World Championship riders
MotoGP World Championship riders
Pramac Racing MotoGP riders
Moto3 World Riders' Champions
MotoGP World Riders' Champions
Aprilia Racing MotoGP riders