Martin crash row escalates as Aprilia calls Michelin safety situation 'critical'

The disagreement over the cause of MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin’s savage test crash has escalated further, with Aprilia rejecting Michelin’s interpretation of the crash data and demanding the tyre supplier meets with all the teams to address what Aprilia calls a “critical” safety situation.

Martin underwent surgery in Spain on Friday for fractures sustained in a violent high-side at Turn 2 early on the first day of Sepang testing on Wednesday.

The injuries ruled him out of most of the first test week and are likely to sideline him from next week’s Buriram test too.

Aprilia team principal Massimo Rivola pointedly said after the crash that nothing in the data about the bike, Martin’s riding or the tyre temperature offered any reason for the incident, and encouraged the media to look into the “history” of the tyres involved.

In response, Michelin defended its procedures around the age, transport and heating of the tyres.

On Friday, Michelin motorsport chief Piero Taramasso requested a fresh audience with the media at the Sepang test and said his firm’s investigations had suggested that while the surface tyre temperature measurement that Aprilia used seemed normal, the “inner layer temperature” was 15 degrees lower at the start of Martin’s run than team-mate Marco Bezzecchi’s had been.

“This for sure is a big parameter, with the track condition - remember it was very slippery conditions, it was windy, it was cold, it was only 30 degrees, here normally it's 50 degrees,” said Taramasso.

“We had rain overnight, so bad [track] condition - and with the tyre not ready, that's why the crash happened.”

This was @88jorgemartin's awful highside in his first hours with the number 1 plate