Ex-Yamaha man names the Valentino Rossi quality Jorge Martin can bring to Aprilia in 2025 MotoGP season

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When Valentino Rossi joined Yamaha ahead of the 2004 season, he was already a three-time premier class champion. He had dominated the sport since 2001, his sophomore year.

But a hat-trick of championships with Honda didn’t stop him switching to their Japanese rivals. Yamaha hadn’t won the riders’ title since 1992, when Wayne Rainey triumphed.

They finished third in the teams’ standings in 2003, some 200 points off Honda. But Rossi’s faith proved to be justified.

He immediately delivered back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, with Yamaha securing a clean sweep the second time around. After championships for Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner, Rossi prevailed again in ’08 and ’09.

Last season, Jorge Martin emulated Rossi by tasting glory for a satellite team. It had been 23 years since The Doctor’s historic feat at the Nastro Azzurro Honda squad.

But like Rossi, Martin leaves as a champion. Denied a factory Ducati bike in favour of Marc Marquez, he defected to Aprilia.

Jorge Martin may be the ‘champion’ Aprilia are missing, just like Valentino Rossi at Yamaha

Speaking on Giovanni Zamagni’s YouTube channel, former Yamaha crew chief Antonio Jimenez looked ahead to Martin’s Aprilia move. Jimenez worked with Rossi’s teammate Carlos Checa before he transferred to Tech3.

Reflecting on the start of the millennium, he said Yamaha had a ‘good bike’, but not a contending one. It was Rossi’s arrival that made the difference.

And he suspects that MotoGP fans may see a repeat at Aprilia, with Martin able to elevate his team just as Rossi did. The Noale outfit were the highest-ranking non-Ducati team in last year’s standings, amassing 353 points, but finished behind KTM in the constructors’.

Jimenez envisages plenty of success for Martin in his new surroundings. But he acknowledges Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez will be difficult to stop.

“I’ll tell you just one thing,” Jimenez said. “We were at Yamaha in 2000. The bike was a good bike. Maybe we were missing the champion.

“Valentino arrived and with that bike, he won his first race and he won the world championship. We were missing the rider who made the difference. Possibly the rider who makes the difference has arrived in Aprilia.

“Like Rossi in 2003, he arrives as world champion. I’m sure he will score many victories, many podiums, many poles, then he will have to fight with Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.”

Why Aleix Espargaro’s isn’t convinced by Jorge Martin’s 2025 prediction

Martin has ruled out a 2025 title, a strikingly downbeat prediction from a reigning champion. He will see it as a realistic appraisal of Aprilia’s standing.

Ducati are enjoying an era of domination in MotoGP, having won the last four constructors’ titles. Their biggest test may be the upcoming regulation changes in 2027.

But Honda test rider Aleix Espargaro doesn’t share Martin’s pessimism. He rode the Aprilia bike last season and scored four Sprint podiums, including a win in Catalunya.

Aprilia will launch their 2025 challenger on Thursday. They are second in the launch schedule after Trackhouse (14 January).