Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia’s pre-season testing in Malaysia has not been smooth sailing. The Noale-based manufacturer lost two riders through injury on day one.
Defending champion Jorge Martin was participating in his first proper outing with Aprilia after joining from Pramac. But the Spaniard’s test was cut short after a violent highside at turn two.
Fractures to his right hand and left foot have ruled Martin for the rest of testing at Sepang. The 26-year-old recovery time is currently unknown.
Aprilia sports director Massimo Rivola pinned blame on MotoGP’s tyre supplier Michelin for the crash. Martin’s teammate Marco Bezzecchi questioned the tyre allocation for the test, suggesting there are not enough grippy softs for the event.
Michelin manager Piero Taramasso says Martin was outpacing his rivals after seeing the date, refusing to say the tyres were responsible for the crash.
Aprilia also lost Raul Fernandez through injury on day one. The Trackhouse rider broke his hand in a crash before Martin had his dramatic accident.
Massimo Rivola must now be thinking Miguel Oliveira would have been a ‘better bet’ than Raul Fernandez
Fernandez’s crash marks the second season in a row he has ended his pre-season campaign early through injury. It is something the Spaniard cannot afford to do this year on the factory RS-GP25.
Fernandez could only manage 66 points in 2024 with Trackhouse, achieving a best finish of sixth in Barcelona. Teammate Miguel Oliveira scored nine more points than the Spaniard – despite missing five of the last six races through a wrist injury.
The Portuguese rider left the Aprilia setup for Yamaha in 2025. After Fernandez’s latest setback, journalist Simon Patterson says Rivola has ‘got to be’ thinking Oliveira would have been a ‘better bet’ – despite being a Fernandez ‘superfan’.
“The factory team have talked a lot this year about maturity and how about the whole thing has become more mature because they’ve signed the world champion. They’ve fought for a title, they’re ready to do big things”, said Patterson via The Race MotoGP Podcast.
“And Raul Fernandez still comes across as a bit of an immature weak link in the whole thing.
“And you have to think right now, there’s got to be a part of Massimo Rivola, as much as he may or may not be a Raul Fernandez superfan, who’s thinking: ‘Maybe Oliveira would have been the better bet as the consistency rider, from last year to this year”.
What Yamaha’s rivals are saying ‘really strongly’ about them in Malaysia testing
Oliveira has linked up with Jack Miller at Pramac for 2025. The Tuscany-based outfit have become Yamaha’s satellite team after winning the riders’ title with Martin last season at Ducati.
Lin Jarvis is in awe of Yamaha’s miraculous deal with Pramac as the manufacturer look to improve their fortunes in 2025. They finished fourth in the constructors’ championship in 2024, 49 points ahead of Honda.
Frustrations have been high at Yamaha about the team’s regression in recent years. Fabio Quartararo even asked for a number one sticker to be removed as the 2021 champion did not want to live in the past.
But the Japanese manufacturer have been making huge steps off the track to improve on it. Paolo Pavesio says Yamaha are doing something ‘pretty crazy’ in developing this year’s YZR-M1 and the V4 – which they hope to introduce in 2026 – simultaneously.
And it appears that investment has been paying off. Yamaha’s rivals are talking ‘really strongly’ about their progress after showing solid performance in Malaysia.
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