Jorge Martin returns home to “encouraging” medical report after Qatar crash

Injured MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin has arrived back in his home town of Madrid less than two weeks after his horror crash at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Martin took a special flight from Doha on Saturday and was then taken to hospital in Madrid, where he underwent a CAT scan to determine the true extent of his lung and rib injuries. The results of his tests allowed him to start planning a recovery that is not expected to conclude before the summer break.

This would lead him to miss the next eight races, starting with this Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. 

After the examinations, Martin left the hospital to begin his recovery at home. MotoGP medical director Angel Charte subsequently provided a positive update via the Spaniard’s Aprilia team.

“Yesterday we performed a CT scan on Jorge and the news is certainly good and very encouraging.

“Martin has perfect lungs. The pleura, the membrane that surrounds the lung, is completely closed. Moreover of the theoretically 11 [rib] fractures he had, three remain: the seventh, the eighth and the eleventh, which already show the ongoing progression of the callus.

“Therefore, in my opinion, the progress has been very positive. Now we will wait as long as necessary and continue to monitor the evolution of these fractures from Madrid.”

The Spanish Aprilia rider had been in Qatar since 9 April, when he arrived in Doha to make his comeback after two months of injury that saw him miss the first three grands prix of the season in Thailand, Argentina and the United States.

Having undergone two operations, at the beginning and end of February, on his right and left hands, which were the result of two separate crashes, Martin arrived in Qatar to finally make his debut on the Aprilia following his move from Pramac Ducati.

Martin completed almost the entire Grand Prix, but in Sunday's race, with only nine laps to go, he crashed and was run over by Fabio di Giannantonio, resulting in pneumothorax and 11 fractured ribs.

Following the crash, Martin spent a week in hospital in Doha to overcome the lung problem. On Monday of this week, he was transferred to a hotel in the Qatari capital to gather enough strength to board a plane home.

Finally, the Madrid rider was able to travel this Saturday, taking off from Doha International Airport at 10am local time, in a small medical plane hired for this transfer.