SportsNews

Martin will “definitely” race in MotoGP’s Thailand GP

Published

10 months ago

February 16, 2025

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin is set to return to action in the Thailand Grand Prix after missing almost all of pre-season testing, Motorsport.com understands.

This Saturday marks one week since Aprilia’s new star rider was discharged by doctors following surgery on the right hand he broke at the start of the Sepang test.

Over the past week, the Spaniard has been resting at home, waiting for the fractures on his right hand and left foot (which did not require an operation) to heal.

Martin is expected to travel to Buriram later this month to contest the opening round of the season, scheduled on 28 February – 2 March.

“Jorge is doing well, progressing, and is planning to start training next week to be in better physical shape for Thailand,” said a person closer to the rider.

“He will definitely be at the first race, confirmed. Let’s see if he can prepare a little better physically before travelling. He has a medical appointment this [coming] week to check the progress of the fractures and determine if he can start training.”

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
© Autosport.com

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Aprilia Racing

With less than two weeks remaining until the Thai race, and his medical check-up expected on Monday or Tuesday, Martin will have only six-seven days remaining to get physically ready for the new season.

Apart from his own progress, Martin is believed to be excited about Aprilia’s results in the Buriram test, where team-mate Marco Bezzecchi set the third-quickest time and also showed strong pace on long runs.

“The best thing about Jorge is that he wants to know everything. Obviously, he regrets not being able to attend the tests, but we’ve been in constant contact minute-by-minute,” said Pablo Bonora, Aprilia’s technical director.

“Most of all, he wants to know our feedback on the parts we’ve tested, and it’s very interesting to listen to him because he has incredible energy.

“What we’ve focused on most is making a more manageable bike, and a lot of the improvement comes from the new 2025 engine, which has given us great feedback.”

When asked whether Aprilia was closing in on Ducati, Bonora said: “No, no, I don’t talk about others. Let’s skip that question [laughs].”

In the absence of Martin, Aprilia turned to its test rider Lorenzo Savadori to grab valuable mileage it would have otherwise lost.

“We’re happy with the test; we were clearly working for Jorge, with whom we’ve been in constant contact,” explained Savadori. “He wants to know everything, he asks about everything, everything.

“We’ve been working on a set-up that will allow Jorge to quickly get on the bike when he’s back here, at this same Thai track.”

While Aprilia is pleased with Bezzecchi’s work in pre-season testing, it is eager for Martin to get back at work.

“We’re waiting for Jorge because we need his confirmation, that’s for sure. For the first races, we will give him the base set-up we found during the winter,” Bonora said.

“Right now, his medical recovery plan is completely under control, and his sensations are improving day by day, so we can’t wait to have him with us as soon as possible.

“We hope that in these first races, he’ll quickly find confidence with the bike.

“To be honest, we’ll consider the first four races (Thailand, Argentina, Austin, and Qatar) as a test for Jorge. He lost the opportunity to test in Sepang and Buriram, and in MotoGP, when you switch from one bike [Ducati] to another [Aprilia], you need to find confidence.

“It won’t be easy, but we’ll do everything we can to help him. We saw that Marco quickly found confidence in Buriram, and that gives us confidence that we can provide Jorge with a good bike.”

SportsNews

EPL: Fulham must move on from defeat to Manchester City — Iwobi

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.

Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.

Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.

The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.

Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.

Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.

“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.

Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.

SportsNews

EPL: Guardiola names team that impresses him everyday

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has named the Premier League club that has impressed him so much this season.

The Spaniard said that Enzo Maresca’s side have really impressed him with the improvement they make everyday.

Speaking after Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Guardiola pointed out that a team must remain consistent to win the title.

Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points behind Arsenal with the victory over Fulham, but the Gunners could maintain their five points lead with a win over Brentford on Wednesday night.

“Chelsea impresses me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long,” he told reporters after the win.

“Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we in December, January or February we were behind.

“The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.

“But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.”

SportsNews

Outrage As ‘Biological Male’ Wins World’s Strongest Woman Event in Texas (Photos)

Published

1 week ago

November 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman final has sparked outrage after an alleged transgender athlete won gold.

American Jammie Booker, who is accused of being a biological male, beat Great Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the event in Arlington, Texas.

According to Mail Online, Thompson walked off the podium, appearing to say ‘this is bulls***,’ while Booker celebrated. The Brit has since been crowned the ‘true World’s Strongest Woman’ by her coach and some of her peers.

Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background.

Details on the American are not clear, but the publication sighted a YouTube video – uploaded to what appears to be Booker’s YouTube channel in September 2017, with Booker saying: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.

‘I’m 21-year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’

On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram that read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.

But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.

This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.

‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.

‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.

‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025’