Unbelievable: Jorge Martin’s ‘inch-perfect’ French GP Sprint has Neil Hodgson calling him royalty

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Neil Hodgson has applauded Jorge Martin for being “inch perfect” from the outset after the Aprilia rider took home the Sprint Race win at the 2026 French Grand Prix in Le Mans.

Martin headed into the 2026 campaign still searching for his first podium since joining Aprilia last year. But Saturday at Le Mans saw him take another step forward, claiming his second Sprint victory of the season by 1.107 seconds after starting eighth on the grid.

This time, though, it was all about his raw speed from lights out. Francesco Bagnaia had no answer once Martin hit the front, and Ducati simply couldn’t match him over the short distance.

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Neil Hodgson praises Jorge Martin for hitting the ground running

Back in March at the US Grand Prix, Martin claimed the COTA Sprint win with a late move on Bagnaia. He went with a medium rear tyre while Bagnaia chose the soft, and that made all the difference.

But at Le Mans, it was his blistering start that put him in control early. He jumped from P8 to fourth before Turn 1 and then made a bold move around the outside at Turn 3, quickly getting ahead of Marco Bezzecchi by Turn 4.

Hodgson pointed to Martin’s ability to find his rhythm straight away as a key factor in his success this time around. Even though he only qualified eighth, he had looked sharp throughout practice sessions.

“He was just inch perfect. He’s always had that ability just to go straight to the limit on those opening laps”, Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2.

“That’s why he’s won so many Sprint Races. He looked good in FP1, though. [They] showed him in FP1, and I thought, ‘That’s as good as I’ve seen him look on the Aprilia’.