Aprilia rider Neil Hodgson will replace George Martin after suffering three rare crashes at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. He believes that by 2025 he has returned to his “strange” habits.
Martin In the first season, he stayed from hell for a year Aprilia In the year Rider in 2025, but left a positive impression on him. Hodgson The first three rounds of the 2026 campaign. The 28-year-old arrived in Jerez in second place among the riders before the race Spanish GP.
Only factory Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezecchi has scored more points than Martin in the opening three rounds of 2026 in Thailand, Brazil and the US. Martin won the COTA SprintAlso his first win of any kind since joining 2024 champion Aprilia in 2025.
Martin He missed out on a Grand Prix podium with Aprilia in 2025 due to injury in his nightmare year, but this year he finished P2 in Brazil and the USA. The Spaniard only participated in seven of the eight Grands Prix he entered last year due to a serious injury.
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George Martin beat Neil Hodgson in a series of crashes at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.
Martin’s first season with Aprilia in 2025 was marred by the crash. While training at Sepang Challenge, Supermoto Bike, Qatar Grand Prix and Japanese Grand Prix Sprint Race. He broke his right arm, left leg, left arm, 11 ribs and collarbone and suffered a hemopneumothorax, leaving the Madrid native fearing for his life in Luzail.
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But he “surprised” Martin Hodgson with his early form in 2026, with his “strange” habits returning to the Spanish GP this weekend. Hodgson thinks Martin is back at Jerez after crashing on the exit lap in FP1, before running around the circuit in practice and qualifying.
Hodgson said. TNT Sports 2 (25/04, 10:49): “It’s surprising, because he had a strong start to the season – he surprised us all and then he went back to George Martin last year.
“One of the accidents was when he went out on a lap in practice yesterday morning, we had him run across the track, slowing the riders down. It’s been a very chaotic 24 hours for him, don’t you think?”
Jorge Martin receives three-place grid penalty for Spanish Grand Prix – can he still get a podium in Jerez?
Martin crashed on his way to the start of practice in FP1 at Jerez On Friday, he lost the front end of his Aprilia RS-GP to turn 3. The rider of Aprilia showed another failure on Friday Martin crashed in the last corner of Jerez practiceBefore running on the road.
The automatic crossed the circuit to avoid the long way back to the garages to secure Q2 position and to get on his second bike for a late attack. And while he still ended Q2 in P7, Martin crashed out of qualifying in the 1st round of Jerez. After losing the front.
Martin will start this Sunday’s Spanish GP from just P10, despite drawing a three-place grid penalty during practice on Friday afternoon for riding too slowly on the grid. He initially got out of the way of VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio but held off Gresini’s Alex Marquez.
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