Sepang (Malaysia), Oct 30 (IANS) Aprilia rider Jorge Martin was on Friday declared fit to race in the Malaysian Grand Prix after initially being given a green light for Free Practice 1 as the championship battle heats up.
Martin, the 2024 champion, fractured his wrist during a crash at the Australian Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday, which cast major doubts over his appearance at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
On Thursday, he was given the green light to participate in Friday morning's practice session; however, his appearance for the remainder of the weekend was not confirmed.
As per a statement from MotoGP, the Spaniard has been given the go-ahead now after he completed 12 laps in FP1. "In FP1, Martin did 12 laps and was within 2 seconds off the fastest lap in the session, set by Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). 2024 Champion Martin was subsequently passed fit for the Malaysian GP and will continue competing in the weekend," MotoGP wrote in a statement.
Martin has a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius in his right hand and is understood not to be completely fit as of now but would still race as the title stands on the line.
He is currently trailing seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez by 10 points heading into the Malaysian GP. There are four rounds remaining in the season, including the one at the Sepang International Circuit.
Speaking after being given the clearance for the Friday morning session, Martin spoke about his injury, confirming that he was not even able to brush his teeth with his right hand.
"I feel good. For sure, I could be worse; I could be better," Martin was quoted as saying by a leading motorsport website. "Now we achieved the first step, that is to try to ride and then let's see my condition, let's see my feeling, and then we will decide what to do next, if I continue with the GP or not."
"I will try for sure because I'm in the title fight, because otherwise I will be in a house with a cast for one month. He would be facing a significant challenge this weekend with the injury that he has. "But the only thing I can do is to try, at least to try. That's why I'm here and the options I don't really know, I need to understand, I need to go on track. Let's see how much it's a limitation for the riding style.
"It's the right hand, which is the brake and the throttle. It's a right-corner circuit. So overall, it doesn't look great, but let's see tomorrow. "I still cannot brush my teeth (with the right hand); I do it with the left hand, so I cannot do almost anything, but maybe I can ride," he added.
--IANS
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