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Márquez Shines in Malaysia as Martín Suffers Injury

Márquez Shines in Malaysia as Martín Suffers Injury

Eventful first day of pre-season testing with the world champion suffering multiple fractures after a double crash

Jesús Gutiérrez

Miércoles, 5 de febrero 2025, 12:55

In the early hours, the MotoGP roared back to life at the Sepang circuit, marking the start of the 2025 pre-season with the first of three test days, less than a month before the official championship begins. It was a highly eventful day, marred by numerous crashes, leaving three riders injured and out of action right from the start.

Among them was the reigning world champion, Jorge Martín, who suffered two crashes in quick succession shortly after the session began. The second crash was particularly severe; losing rear grip at turn 2, his Aprilia sent him flying, landing headfirst. Although he managed to walk away, he was taken to a nearby hospital for a thorough check-up, which confirmed the worst. The Spaniard has a fracture in the fifth metacarpal of his right hand and several more fractures in the metatarsals of his left foot. He is expected to stay overnight in the hospital and return to Europe on Thursday for surgery, with no estimated recovery time.

Having completed only 13 laps, Jorge Martín already knows he will miss the rest of the test, and possibly the pre-season, as the MotoGP caravan moves to Thailand next week for the final test before the official start of the championship. It's undoubtedly a challenging start for the world champion in defending his title.

Martín's incident wasn't the only bad news for Aprilia, as their satellite rider, Raúl Fernández, also withdrew from the Malaysia test after a severe crash at turn 9. The Madrid native suffered fractures in the metacarpal of his left hand and a toe on his left foot, sending him back to Spain, where surgery is planned in the coming days. The third casualty of day one was Fabio Di Giannantonio, who fractured his left collarbone after a crash at turn 5, and he too is returning to his country for surgery.

Márquez Clears Doubts

In a day overshadowed by crashes and injuries, Marc Márquez shone on the track, debuting in the official colours he will wear in 2025. The Cervera native completed his work programme with a very consistent pace and a time attack in the final minutes of the session, securing second place in the standings, just behind France's Fabio Quartararo, who had already spent two days testing at this track with Yamaha last week. Márquez finished 51 thousandths behind the Frenchman's time and was 1.3 seconds ahead of his teammate, Pecco Bagnaia, who chose not to push in this first contact and finished 17th.

It was also a good day for the Gresini Racing riders, with Álex Márquez in third place, just over a tenth behind his brother's time, and rookie Fermín Aldeguer in fourth, making his debut in the premier class. Joan Mir's sixth-place finish was also notable, offering a glimmer of hope for Honda's resurgence in 2025.

Pedro Acosta concluded the first day of testing in eleventh place, being the fastest KTM rider by mere thousandths. The Murcian was ahead of his teammate Brad Binder and the third Austrian bike, ridden by Maverick Viñales, who was also debuting in the official colours of the orange brand.

Track action will resume this Thursday at 3 a.m., when the green light signals the start of the second of three scheduled days at the Sepang circuit. These tests will proceed without Jorge Martín and the other injured riders.

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todoalicante Márquez Shines in Malaysia as Martín Suffers Injury