Why Martin is a double-edged sword for Aprilia in MotoGP 2025

Last year, the MotoGP transfer market remained stagnant until Ducati decided on Marc Marquez as Francesco Bagnaia’s team-mate for 2025 and 2026. The verdict from the Bologna brand was made effective in Mugello, and that’s when Jorge Martin and Aprilia moved quickly to announce the arrival of the Madrid native once he found out that he had been discarded to wear the red overalls.

Aprilia rushed and made an improvised video to anticipate the announcement from Ducati and Marquez, which came days later. Some saw that as a masterful move by the communication department of the Noale factory, even though no one missed that it was Ducati which always had the upper hand, and which got what it wanted.

Half a year after that frantic race weekend in Tuscany, Martin presented himself on Thursday as the new standard-bearer of Aprilia’s project and with the #1 plate, which accredits him as MotoGP world champion. It’s a true luxury for the Italian company, obliging it to step up a gear so as not to fall short like in the last two seasons, in which it started in the best way imaginable and faded as the season progressed.

Aprilia claims to be aware of the responsibility of having the champion, and the need to speed up to reduce the distance that Ducati has created behind it. While the Borgo Panigale manufacturer enjoyed the best year in its history in 2024, its ‘neighbour’ took a slight step back and remained in third position in the constructor’s standings, with 25 fewer points than KTM, which defended the second place it had already achieved in 2023.

The two victories and six podiums from two years ago were limited to a single victory in a season that ended last November. However, the current situation seems ideal for Aprilia to finally surpass the Austrian manufacturer, which is involved in a dramatic rescue process due to the tremendous debt it carries, from which it is still not known how it will emerge. While creditors put pressure on KTM to leave the championship in 2026, the four riders under contract already know that the development of their bikes will be reduced to a minimum, a circumstance that should have a significant impact on the performance of the RC16s.

While KTM wobbles, Honda and Yamaha continue in their particular battle to get out of the hole in which the two remaining Japanese contenders in the championship are stuck. Although they have concessions and, among other things, have much more freedom to evolve their prototypes, the gap that separates them from the rest is too big for them to cover that distance before the revolution in the regulations planned for 2027. Thus, Aprilia has before it the perfect scenario to continue growing if it does things right, but it also runs the risk of being exposed if it does not take the step forward that is expected.

Signing Martin gets rid of any questions regarding the quality of the rider, and focuses all examinations on the bike, the other variable in the equation. “Having Jorge? You can call it pressure or motivation, but pressure is ultimately motivation. And responsibility is also motivation, so we have great motivation,” Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia’s racing division, told Motorsport.com.

“Aprilia can give him a good place and a good bike to ride and to win. It’s clear that we are not the benchmark, and we also know which bike is. But being the alternative to that benchmark is our goal,” adds the executive.

On the other side of the garage will be Marco Bezzecchi, who is expected to find the consistency he lacked last year.

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing. Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Aprilia Racing

“I’ve always said that there are riders with more talent than me. I’ve won races with Aprilia. With the talent Jorge has, I think he’s very capable of fighting for the title with this bike. I’m not saying he’ll do it immediately, but I do believe he can do it,” adds Aleix Espargaro, holder of three of Aprilia’s four victories in MotoGP, and who now performs testing duties at Honda.

With Martin and Bezzecchi, Rivola and his team are sure to have one of the most powerful line-ups at the moment. Several indicators suggest that the commitment acquired by recruiting the champion is not only the result of a simple opportunity offered by the market but is accompanied by a real desire for growth. At least, that’s what can be inferred from different indicators.

The link-up with Trackhouse, the satellite team, has been strengthened after a first experience that started in a rushed manner and without room for change for either party. Raul Fernandez faced half the season with a bike from the previous year, an obvious handicap in the speed of development of the RS-GP. Aprilia learned a good lesson from this if we consider the deployment it will carry out in the first collective pre-season tests that will take place in Sepang in February.

There, it will deploy 10 units of its latest specification (RS-GP25), two per head both in the factory garage (Martin and Bezzecchi) and in Trackhouse’s (Fernandez and Ai Ogura). The other two will go to the testing division workshop. It’s an eloquent manifesto that is ratified by Fabiano Sterlacchini, the technical director who arrived at the end of 2024, and who will replace Romano Albesiano, who signed with Honda.

Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Aprilia Racing

“Having the champion is not only a responsibility but rather a huge opportunity. Jorge arrives as the world champion and gets off the reference bike. That will help us to evaluate ourselves and to know where to focus our efforts, which is a key aspect in our work. What we want is to reach the top, but for that, we have to take steps. The first thing will be for the riders, who are new, to fully adapt to their new bike. Only then will they be able to get the maximum performance out of what they have,” commented Sterlacchini at the launch event.

Aprilia kicks off a new stage with Martin’s name and his new plate on display. A plate, #1, which logically also carries danger. “We are a company capable of withstanding the impact of the arrival of a world champion. If we fail it will be our fault, no one else’s,” admits Rivola. In his favour, it plays that he keeps it in mind, at least to avoid eventual surprises.