Jorge Martin has been released from the hospital after an ongoing battle to get back to the grid. Martin suffered a variety of injuries in a crash earlier this season and his return has been overshadowed by a lengthy recovery. Martin commented on his recovery and journey home.
“Finally out of the hospital. Thank you all for the messages and for supporting me through this tough time in my life. I’m still in a lot of pain, but everything is under control. I’ll stay in Qatar for a few more days as a precaution, and as soon as I can, I’ll head home to rest and be with my people. Hope it’ll be very soon.”
While his discharge signals good progress, Martin’s full recovery is still ongoing. He will remain in Qatar for a short period as a precaution before travelling back to Europe, with Aprilia later confirming that Martin is scheduled to fly to Madrid on the 26th of April before undergoing further checks at the Hospital Ruber Internacional Quirón in Madrid.
Aprilia has confirmed that Lorenzo Savadori will still be available to step in to substitute for Martin at the upcoming French Grand Prix. Jorge Martin currently holds the lap record at Le Mans with a 01:29.919s lap time.
This weekend in Kent, Washington at Pacific Raceways the NHRA NW Nationals drew fans from all over the region. The stop is part of a three leg West coast stent for the series. 12 classes took to the drag strip including to compete in a knockout stage fashion until winners were crowned on Sunday. The winners from the NHRA NW Nationals were as follows
| Driver | Class |
| Steve Torrence | Top Fuel |
| Tim Wilkerson | Funny Car |
| Gaige Herrera | Pro Stock Motorcycle |
| Jackie Fricke | Top Alcohol Dragster |
| Doug Gordon | Top Alcohol Funny Car |
| Joseph Arrowsmith | Competition Eliminator |
| Justin Lamb | Stock Eliminator |
| Garrett Sides | Super Comp |
| Paul Nero | Super Gas |
| Brian McGinnis | Super Street |
| Thomas Bayer | Top Dragster |
| Ty Gaynor | Jdrl Shootout |
TopFuel winner Steve Torrence stated the following to NHRA after his return to winning ways at Pacific Raceways, “
“I feel like we’re getting some momentum going at just the right time. We’re getting that race car back that we had in years past. I don’t think [the car] is as good as it can be, but it’s definitely moving in the right direction,” stated Torrence. Torrence had gone 17 straight events without a win prior to this weekend.
“I’ve been in these situations on both sides of the spectrum, where you dominate the entire first half of the season or first two thirds of the season and you go into the last six [races] and falter [as he did in 2017] or you go into the last six and win them all [as he did a year later] or you just win by a couple points or whatever. But yeah, it’s a good time to peak; it’s a good time to start getting ready for the Countdown.”
Torrence continued, “I’ve got my head in the game, the car’s where it needs to be, and we have that confidence. It’s like going fishing and you catch something every time you throw that lure out there. You’re like that lure is gonna catch a fish every time. That’s how you feel when you go in to race day with that confidence.”
For more about the NHRA NW National event check out the official press release here: NHRA NW Regional Press Release.