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Aprilia Racing MotoGP team manager Paolo Bonora has explained why Jorge Martin completed only four laps during the crucial 60-minute Practice session ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Martin's physical condition was the main talking point during Friday's action at Sepang, following a fracture to his right wrist sustained last Saturday. The Spaniard managed 12 laps in the opening 45-minute Free Practice 1, ending up 1.8 seconds adrift of Marc Marquez's benchmark. In the afternoon Practice session, the 'Martinator' completed just four laps—only two of which were timed—before returning to the pit box and sitting out the remainder of the session.
According to Bonora, the decision was made once it became clear that Martin lacked the physical strength to fight for direct entry into Q2, prompting the team to safeguard their rider. The hope is that he will be able to return to action on Saturday for qualifying and the Sprint race outside Kuala Lumpur.
"After consulting with the medical team, we made the joint decision for him not to continue in today's session, but rather wait until tomorrow morning when we will re-evaluate his condition. At the moment, it is very difficult for him to handle the physical strain when pushing for an all-out flying lap," Bonora explained to reporters trackside during the official Practice session. "That's why we decided not to take any risks whatsoever. Following a discussion with Dr. Charte, we reached a unanimous decision that he should sit out the rest of the session," the Aprilia manager added.
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