Aprilia Racing is preparing to tackle the fourth race of the season on Lusail International Circuit with a complete line-up: Jorge Martín, who will be back on the track after missing the first three races due to an injury, and Marco Bezzecchi who will be aiming to confirm his grand form.

Jorge Martín, absent from the first three races of the year due to an injury suffered during training, will return to the track to finally begin his season with Aprilia Racing. The Spanish rider, who had a complex fracture of the radius and scaphoid on the left hand, and an ipsilateral calcaneal fracture during a training session, underwent surgery on 25 February and then followed an intense physical therapy programme with the goal of returning to the track as quickly as possible. Before taking to the track, the defending world champion will need to be assessed by the World Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Championship medical delegation in order to be cleared to race.

After a difficult season start, marred by two injuries – first in the Sepang tests and then during training – Jorge Martín’s primary objective will be to assess his physical fitness after almost five months of inactivity.

Marco Bezzecchi is heading to Qatar with the goal of realizing his potential after a weekend at COTA marked by a growth trend. The Italian rider demonstrated speed and great determination in the first three races of the season and he is counting on continuing that positive trend and his good feeling with the RS-GP25.

Lusail International Circuit, located just outside the Qatar capital of Doha, is 5,400 metres long with a main straight that stretches out more than one kilometre. The track comprises 10 right-handers and 6 left-handers. In 2008, the first night GP in history was held in Qatar. The switch to night races was a success, making this one of the most spectacular rounds on the MotoGP calendar.

Jorge Martin:

I have a great desire to be back on the track and I’m happy to at least be able to try and race in Qatar. The goal will be to build up a bit of confidence with the RS-GP25 and to begin to turn some laps. I don’t know how my physical fitness will be – undoubtedly not 100%. We’ll try to do our best and to improve gradually. Physically, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to finish the race, but if we can manage, it will be a victory because that will mean that I’m beginning to recover. We need to take one step at a time to try and get back to our normal level as soon as possible.

Marco Bezzecchi:

I have always liked the Qatar track a lot. Racing at night is always exciting. This weekend will certainly be important to try and improve in the areas where we are struggling that we identified in the previous races. We’ll continue to work hard to try and achieve the maximum result.