'Too early to race': Martin admits broken wrist forced Sepang exit

SEPANG: Jorge Martin has pulled out of the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia after conceding it was "too early" to race with a fractured wrist suffered in Australia last week.

Aprilia Racing withdrew the Spaniard ahead of qualifying this morning, following uncompetitive lap times across Friday's sessions and Saturday's second free practice (FP2).

Martin said his wrist could not withstand the demands of a full race distance, though he remained satisfied with his physical progress at the Sepang International Circuit.

"The healing process is going really fast, but not fast enough to be efficient on the bike," Martin said during a media scrum.

"I felt that I could ride for maybe one lap without pain, but then after that, I would have a lot of pain. So I could not be constant.

"After discussing with the team, we thought that I was doing too much to continue, yet with nothing to gain. It would be useless to keep riding for 20 laps and deteriorate the condition (of his wrist).

"It is better to wait and allow the bone to heal a little more. For sure, in Qatar I will feel better, but it was too early to race here."

Martin entered the Malaysian round in second place in the championship standings, 10 points behind leader Marc Marquez of Ducati Lenovo.

Martin said his title prospects appear dim given the injury, but insisted he will continue to fight.

"For sure, I will fight until the end, not just for me but also for my team and my people. I will try again in Qatar," he said.

"I tried here, and I couldn't do it, but this part of life, this is part of the sport.

"I was able to ride a MotoGP bike with a broken wrist and was under two minutes (a lap), so I am already proud of my performances here."

Martin added that he will continue therapy to accelerate his recovery.

Despite regional conflict in the Middle East, the Qatar GP remains scheduled for Nov 6-8.

Portimao (Nov 20-22) and Valencia (Nov 27-29) will stage the season's final two rounds.