After the coup of signing MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin, Aprilia’s 2025 season shortly grew to become an “emotional” rollercoaster for riders and producers alike.
Catastrophe struck when Martin was injured in the beginning of a pre-season check in Malaysia.
Additional accidents and damaged bones adopted, probably the most severe being a crash on his belated RS-GP debut in Qatar the place he was clipped by Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The nightmare scenario received even worse when information broke that Martin wished to make use of his contract’s exit clause to depart Aprilia on the finish of the season.
Jorge Martin leads HRC riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir
Martin’s supervisor Alberto Varela publicly named Honda as an choice, however Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola admitted in a latest MotoGP documentary:
“Albert Varela got here to me and mentioned: ‘Look, I feel we are able to depart and Honda is kind of excited about him. This provide is admittedly good.’
“So I mentioned, ‘Are you kidding me?’
“The following day I went to Madrid as a result of I wished to see Albert (Martin) to see if what he simply mentioned was true.
“And he mentioned, ‘I feel you need to stop.’ And I mentioned, ‘I am sorry, however I am not going to allow you to go.'”
Aprilia objected to the clause and stood agency, however with public help from Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, Martin was finally pressured to satisfy his two-year contract in full.
Nevertheless, the harm cycle continued as Martin misjudged his braking early within the Motegi dash and collided with teammate Marco Bezzecchi, sustaining a damaged bone within the fourth set.
In Martin’s absence, Bezzecchi, who additionally joined Aprilia from Ducati, led the Noale Manufacturing facility to 3 Grand Prix wins and a report third place within the rider standings.
Massimo Rivola, Aprilia
“I feel it was a fairly emotional season. It actually did not begin out the way in which we had deliberate,” Rivola mentioned. crash web.
“Mainly, the hope was to present the riders a couple of months after which be able to combat for podiums. That was the ambition we had from the start.
“Then we’ll know what occurred to Jorge (injured) and what occurred to him, the disagreeable story of Honda and so forth.”
Aprilia confronted the fragile stability of retaining the door open for Martin’s return, whereas making it clear that they might resist any try at an early exit.
“It has been a tough time, however typically tough moments are once we take a brand new step when it comes to bringing the corporate collectively,” Rivola mentioned.
“Additionally within the sense of, ‘Okay, let’s present Jorge that that is the bike for him.'”
Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi celebrates his victory at Silverstone.
“I despatched Jorge a voicemail.”
Aprilia arrived at Silverstone beneath intense scrutiny over Martin’s future, however Bezzecchi delivered the producer’s long-awaited first win of the season, additionally the primary beneath Fabiano Sterracchini’s new technical management.
“I nonetheless bear in mind once I received, I despatched a voicemail to Jorge saying, ‘Come on, we are able to do it. You are able to do it too. Attempt to get higher quickly,'” Rivola mentioned.
Martin publicly dedicated his future to Aprilia for 2026 after returning to Brno, the place he achieved a greatest results of fourth earlier than being sidelined once more by harm at Motegi.
“Sadly, he principally missed all the season,” Rivola continued.
“Subsequent yr is not going to be simple for him as a result of Marko is simply on the proper stage.
“Jorge wants to arrange his thoughts to grasp that he wants time for himself to grasp the bike.
“In spite of everything, a very powerful day of the season was the Misano check earlier than he got here again (in Brno), as a result of it was virtually the one day he had an opportunity to work on the bike and never simply carry out.”
Jorge Martin
When requested if Martin must utterly neglect 2025 and begin once more, Rivola replied:
“It will not be simple to neglect. He will definitely be ranging from scratch. However he will even be taught from what occurred this season.”
Along with Bezzecchi’s three Grand Prix wins (three dash wins), trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez additionally received the Australian Grand Prix and achieved two different podium finishes.
Aprilia achieved a record-high second place within the MotoGP constructors’ rankings, behind Ducati.
