Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola has questioned comments suggesting the Australian Grand Prix being cancelled is a big boost for Jorge Martin’s MotoGP title hopes.
Poor visibility due to wet weather conditions on Sunday forced organisers to cancel Sunday’s final Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
This means the championship gap between Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin remains at 10 points following Saturday’s sprint.
Martin was due to miss Sunday’s race after fracturing his wrist in a crash, which allowed Marquez to take a 10-point lead in the standings.
Jorge Martin, 2026 Australian MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
‘We don’t know if this is good or bad’
Following further scans on his injuries, Martin is targeting a return next week at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
But it also remains unclear how many rounds are actually left in 2026, due to ongoing uncertainty over the Qatar Grand Prix the week following Malaysia.
“On the one hand, there's much more to say; on the other, we simply do what we're told,” Rivola said on Sunday, as reported by Motorsport.
“We do this job because we're passionate about it.
“If the organiser tells us that the conditions are right for us to compete from a safety standpoint, we simply do it.
“We're not in a position to say, 'I'm not going’.
“So far, there's no reason not to. Maybe tomorrow we'll wake up, and the situation will change, but not today.
“Right now, we believe there are four races ahead.
“I don't know if that's good or bad for Jorge, because if he's not physically fit, it's not good. But it's not up to us to decide that.”
Loading this video will expose you to potential cookies and tracking by the provider
“Very difficult” for Martin to race at Sepang
Though Martin will travel to Malaysia to assess his fitness, Rivola believes it will be “very difficult” for him to actually race.
He added: “But I'd like our story to end in the best possible way, with him at 100% physically.
“Yesterday he put on an incredible show.
“We saw the real Jorge, and I think he had a chance to win the race.
“But we can say that sometimes bad things happen. We haven't had much luck with him, but we certainly won't give up until this is over.”
Lewis joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having been a journalist for five years covering MotoGP for the Motorsport Network. In February of 2026, he became Head of Editorial.