The disagreement over the cause of MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin’s savage test crash has escalated further, with Aprilia rejecting Michelin’s interpretation of the crash data and demanding the tyre supplier meets with all the teams to address what Aprilia calls a “critical” safety situation.
Martin underwent surgery in Spain on Friday for fractures sustained in a violent high-side at Turn 2 early on the first day of Sepang testing on Wednesday.
The injuries ruled him out of most of the first test week and are likely to sideline him from next week’s Buriram test too.
Aprilia team principal Massimo Rivola pointedly said after the crash that nothing in the data about the bike, Martin’s riding or the tyre temperature offered any reason for the incident, and encouraged the media to look into the “history” of the tyres involved.
In response, Michelin defended its procedures around the age, transport and heating of the tyres.
On Friday, Michelin motorsport chief Piero Taramasso requested a fresh audience with the media at the Sepang test and said his firm’s investigations had suggested that while the surface tyre temperature measurement that Aprilia used seemed normal, the “inner layer temperature” was 15 degrees lower at the start of Martin’s run than team-mate Marco Bezzecchi’s had been.
“This for sure is a big parameter, with the track condition - remember it was very slippery conditions, it was windy, it was cold, it was only 30 degrees, here normally it's 50 degrees,” said Taramasso.
“We had rain overnight, so bad [track] condition - and with the tyre not ready, that's why the crash happened.”
This was @88jorgemartin's awful highside in his first hours with the number 1 plate 💢
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) February 5, 2025
He's at the hospital undergoing tests due to left foot and right hand pain. Updates will follow and in the meantime, we're sending our best wishes to the World Champ 💪#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/2UQtHKOq1w
He suggested reasons for the low internal tyre temperature could have included how the tyre warming process was done or how the tyre lost temperature on the preceding run in which Martin had also crashed.
Taramasso said the inner layer temperature could also be accessed by teams but suggested they preferred to check the surface temperature for ease.
Asked if Aprilia agreed with Michelin’s findings and no longer blamed the tyre product, Taramasso replied: “Before coming here I spoke with them, of course, I exchanged reports with them. They understand. Because what we show is the data, it's not my opinion, your opinion, it's just a number - data. They believe in data.”
That wasn’t the tone of Aprilia’s response, though.
In its Friday evening press release announcing that Martin had undergone his surgery, Rivola slammed Michelin’s handling of the situation and suggested the total number of crashes during testing meant urgent talks were needed.
“I would like to make it clear that our data in no way confirms the statements made by Piero Taramasso,” he said.
“I believe that the riders' safety should be the priority, and I have already suggested to him to set a meeting with all the teams in order to deal constructively with what is clearly a critical situation, as evidenced by the number of injuries.”
Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez broke a hand in a so-far unexplained crash on Wednesday morning, while VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio broke his collarbone while trying a celebratory wheelie after the chequered flag later that day.
Though Martin sustained both hand and foot injuries, only the hand damage required an operation. Surgeon Dr Xavier Mir said he performed “surgery for a displaced fracture of the head of the right fifth metacarpal, with reduction and percutaneous fixation using an intramedullary screw.”
No timescale has yet been given for Martin’s return to the track. The season begins with the Thai Grand Prix in three weeks.
