Jorge Martín Admits Aprilia Experience Gap After Assen MotoGP

Jorge Martín, the 2024 MotoGP champion, believes he's still missing experience with the Aprilia RS-GP after a challenging Assen MotoGP. The Spaniard took the championship lead but struggled to match the pace of the Trackhouse Racing riders in the high-speed corners.

What happened?

Jorge Martín led the early laps at Assen but was overhauled by the two Trackhouse Racing riders, who reversed the order from Saturday's Sprint. The 2024 MotoGP champion finished third, seven points clear of the championship lead.

Why it matters for Jorge Martín

Martin's admission that he's still behind on RS-GP mileage came after he took the championship lead at Assen. The time itself is not indicative of Martin's experience with the Aprilia, given he missed almost all of 2025 with injuries and had to skip the first test of 2026 for injury as well.

What comes next?

The 2024 MotoGP champion takes a seven-point championship lead to the Sachsenring on 10-12 July after Marco Bezzecchi crashed out at Assen, making the Dutch Grand Prix the Italian's third non-scoring Sunday race in succession. Martin believes he needs to understand and improve his performance in the high-speed corners, where he was outpaced by the Trackhouse riders.

Jorge Martín explained that he struggled to achieve the same performance after he was passed by the Trackhouse riders and put in their slipstream. He was not able to match the two satellite riders in the high-speed corners, a deficit Martin believes is a consequence of that lack of experience with the RS-GP.

"I was leading and for sure when you are leading everything works better: your front has grip, it's not overheating," Jorge Martín said in the post-race press conference at Assen. "I was trying to control the rear temperature, but as soon as they overtook me I started to have more problems, so I tried to stay behind them, I tried to follow them."

Martin takes a seven-point championship lead to the Sachsenring on 10-12 July after Marco Bezzecchi crashed out at Assen, making the Dutch Grand Prix the Italian's third non-scoring Sunday race in succession.