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Aprilia rider Jorge Martin has been ruled out of both the Malaysian MotoGP sprint and main race after struggling with a broken wrist, dealing a significant blow to his world championship hopes as the season approaches its final stages.
The Spaniard arrived in Malaysia carrying a fracture sustained during last weekend's Australian Grand Prix sprint race and initially took part in practice at the Sepang circuit.
Although Martin completed Friday's opening practice session without further injury, he managed only a limited number of laps later that afternoon and on Saturday morning before sitting out qualifying.
Aprilia Racing team manager Paolo Bonora confirmed that the team had decided to pull Martin out of the remainder of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend because the injury prevented him from properly controlling the motorcycle under braking.
"We've decided to withdraw (him) from the rest of the weekend," Bonora said.
"He couldn't put any force into the bike in the braking areas."
The decision leaves Martin facing a race against time to recover ahead of next weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, with the rider set to return to Spain for further assessment.
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Martin's withdrawal strengthens the position of Ducati rider Marc Marquez, the reigning world champion and current championship leader.
Marquez entered the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend holding a 10-point advantage over his fellow Spaniard, with three race weekends remaining after Sepang.
Despite the setback, Martin, who won the world championship in 2024, insisted that he would continue fighting for the title.
"For sure I will fight till the end, not only for me, because at the end of the day I'm already a champion, but for my team, for my people, I will fight till the end," Martin said.
With his participation in Qatar still uncertain, Martin's immediate focus now turns to recovering from the wrist injury and determining whether he can return to competition next weekend.
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