MotoGP has had a pretty amazing ride so far in regards to keeping the current plague out of the paddock since racing got back underway. An earlier scare with a member of the Dorna team testing positive after being swabbed at Brno was well contained, the same with a Red Bull Rookie that recorded a positive results.
However, it has been has been confirmed today that KTM Moto2 rider Jorge Martin has tested positive in the lead-up to this weekend’s Misano MotoGP World Championship round.
Under the Dorna protocol for such an event Martin can expect to sit out this weekend’s event unless his second swab returns a negative result.
Martin is currently in joint second place in the Moto2 World Championship, eight-points behind series leader Luca Marini.
The 22-year-old Spaniard is widely tipped to move to the premier MotoGP class with Ducati next season.
His positive test will make many in the paddock quite nervous, including those in the KTM MotoGP Teams that have regularly mixed with the Moto2 rider.
Dorna Statement
“Two individuals set to attend the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini have tested positive for Covid-19. As already confirmed by his team, one of the individuals is Moto2 rider Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo). There has also been one positive result returned for a mechanic from a different team. Both are asymptomatic and are now safely in isolation. They have not entered the paddock for the event and will not be able to attend the San Marino Grand Prix.
We wish them a speedy recovery, and hope to see them back in the MotoGP paddock soon. MotoGP has undertaken more than 14,000 tests for Covid-19 since before the Spanish Grand Prix and has safely detected and isolated each positive case diagnosed.”
