Jorge Martin to drop three places on Spanish GP grid after penalty

The 2024 MotoGP world champion was caught holding up pace-setter Alex Marquez on Friday

Jorge Martin's chances of picking up a first grand prix win since 2024 have taken a blow after he was hit with the three-place grid penalty for Sunday's Spanish GP.

The factory Aprilia rider was 'observed to be riding slow online disturbing another rider at Turns 3-4' during the final minutes of Friday afternoon's Practice session. That rider was Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez, who comfortably topped the timesheets regardless.

While Martin's task on Sunday will be tougher as a result of the grid penalty, he did at least set himself up for the best possible qualifying by joining Marquez in picking up a direct ticket to the Saturday Q2 session.

This looked a shaky prospect for Martin at various points during the first day's track action, when the 28-year-old crashed twice.

Martin's tumble in the morning was particularly bizarre, given that it came after the end of the session itself. He was on his way to the customary practice starts when he dropped it at Turn 3, causing significant damage to his primary bike, which was only repaired just in time for Practice in the afternoon.

That crash was Martin's second in a non-competitive situation in as many race weekends. He also fell whilst attempting a celebratory wheelie following his sprint victory in the USA last time out.

Read Also:

MotoGPJorge Martin’s “full send” celebration ends in wheelie crash after US GP sprint win

Halfway through Practice at Jerez, Martin went down again, this time at the final corner, Lorenzo.

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

"I think it was just a lack of temperature," reported Martin, admitting he needs to be more aware of tyres cooling after a break or backing off. "Normally, here in Jerez, you just slow down a bit and then you can go.

"So, maybe a bit of some mistakes from my side. But nothing to worry about. It's just normal crashes because of cooling the front tyre."

An unusually cool April day at Jerez did not make things easier in terms of tyre temperature. Saturday should be slightly warmer but there is a chance of rain during the afternoon sprint race, for which Martin's grid penalty will not apply: "If tomorrow we have this weather, I have to be more careful with this [cooling tyres]."

Further unspecified "issues with the bike" meant Martin had only one chance to go for a lap time during Practice, but he scraped through to Q2 with ninth-fastest time.

After a session Martin called "a bit of a mess", he was satisfied with the outcome. But the subsequent news of the grid penalty may have soured his mood at a circuit that has not been kind to him in the past.