Maria Monfort recalls the toughest moments experienced by the Aprilia rider: “It was a tragedy.” Then, at Losail, the lowest point: “Jorge thought he wouldn’t race again”

Maria Monfort recalls the toughest moments experienced by the Aprilia rider: “In Malaysia, he called me from the hospital. We both started crying.” In Losail, he hit rock bottom: “Jorge thought he’d never race again.” Jorge Martin realized early on that 2025 wouldn’t be an easy year. During preseason testing in Malaysia, he suffered the first of a long series of injuries, which inevitably affected his season. So there would be no defense of that No. 1 he’d earned in 2024 and displayed on the Aprilia fairing. For the Spaniard, it was a long ordeal, shared with his loved ones. Among them is Maria Monfort, the former world champion’s girlfriend. Through a documentary produced by MotoGP, she recounted some dramatic behind-the-scenes moments, including the day Martin feared he was going to die.

Jorge suffered his first blow to his morale during the Sepang tests. The Spaniard was thrown from his RS-GP, sustaining fractures to his right hand and left foot. Maria’s memory is vivid: “Jorge called me from the hospital. He started crying, and I did too. It was a tragedy.” Martin, however, reacted with great courage, as his girlfriend pointed out: “He spent two weeks focused on his recovery. He poured all his energy into getting back as soon as possible.” Unfortunately, though, bad luck continued to plague the Spaniard, who, during a training session on a motard, was injured again, this time fracturing his left hand.

fear—  But the lowest point came in Qatar. No sooner had he returned to racing than Martin crashed, nearly being hit by Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was coming up behind him. The impact was minor, but the damage was still severe: a pneumothorax and several broken ribs. Maria was there during that terrible moment as well: “I walked into the hospital room, looked at Jorge, and we immediately started crying. It was like saying to each other, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I love you.’ We cried for a long time. He was in so much pain, and we were terrified. He told me he was sure he was going to die. He was devastated; he even doubted he’d ever be able to race again.” A dramatic account. Fortunately, however, Martin has returned to racing. He had strong performances in the Czech Republic and Hungary, finishing seventh and fourth. A new injury at Motegi, during the Japanese GP Sprint, forced him to stop racing once again. But Jorge remains confident, as he has consistently explained through MotoGP channels: “I’ll be here as long as my body and mind allow me to be.”