Jorge Martín returned to the MotoGP track as promised during the Valencia GP, the last Grand Prix of the season. After a "shitty" year, he wanted to test himself because "he loves this sport very much" and wants to continue racing for many years. However, he did not finish the race: he retired during lap 16 out of 27, returning to the pit lane, where his team Aprilia met him with applause.
That was his plan all along. In fact, Martín never thought about competing and taking risks, because of the severity of his most recent injury. From the first lap, Martín intentionally dropped to 21st position running off track. "It made no sense for me today to just be in the pack because you also saw the crash with [Johann] Zarco and Pecco [Bagnaia]. I didn't want this to happen to me, so I just went out", he said after the race, via Motorsport.
https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1990049356217495779
Martín tells that he felt really tired after the weekend, and the target was always to stop before the finish line. "We spoke together with the team and the most intelligent decision was to stop after a few laps. I did 15 laps, a bit more than yesterday [sprint race], so this is a good sign. But I was really tired and with pain, so it made no sense to continue." With the injuries he is still recovering from, another crash would have been a "disaster" for him.
While not the season end he imagined one year ago, when Martín won the championship, it is still a positive note: Martín ended the season on his bike, after missing nearly two thirds of the races this year, and with the support from his team after the drama earlier this year, when Martín said he would leave the team using a clause in his contract and Aprilia threatened to sue him.