Davide Tardozzi says 60-race MotoGP star looked absolutely ‘exceptional’ during 2025 pre-season tests

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Aprilia suffered the worst possible start to their 2025 campaign after losing reigning world champion Jorge Martin on his first official morning of running.

Martin suffered a big highside shunt, which saw him fracture nearly bones in both his feet and hands. He now faces a difficult recovery.

With just weeks to go until the season-opening Grand Prix of Thailand, it means that Aprilia may be on the back foot already.

With little data to assess their headline new signing with, much of the workload shifted to Marco Bezzecchi, who rode impressively in both Sepang and Buriram.

People within Aprilia are ‘absolutely delighted’ with Bezzecchi after Buriram testing, where he challenged the formidable Ducati riders at the top of the times.

Massimo Rivola has even warned Martin about Bezzecchi upon his return from injury, which is expected to be in Thailand later in the month.

Davide Tardozzi says Marco Bezzecchi was ‘exceptional’ in MotoGP testing

Aprilia finished third in the MotoGP constructors’ standings last year, just 25 points shy of their Austrian rivals KTM.

This year, after bringing the world champion to their team and a rider with 60 races of experience on the best bike in the sport, they have high hopes.

There’s a negative ‘feeling’ about Ducati’s GP24 engine gamble. Some fear it may hold them back this season and that it could open the door for some of their rivals.

READ MORE: Jorge Martin’s Aprilia return date might shock some of his MotoGP rivals

Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi was impressed by Bezzecchi during testing and has backed Aprilia to be competitive again this season.

“I would say that here, Marco Bezzecchi has done something exceptional,” he said. “I believe that the Aprilia was competitive last year. I do not see why it should not be this year.

“I believe that the arrival of Sterlacchini has given a different vision, a different input. So surely having a Marco Bez who performs and when the world champion returns, the Aprilia will certainly be very competitive.”

Marco Bezzecchi had a telling look in his eyes after riding Aprilia’s 2025 bike

After finishing 12th in the riders’ championship last season, Bezzecchi will have high hopes for a better finish in 2025.

He has the opportunity to learn from a champion teammate and develop his understanding of setups and race circuits.

Bezzecchi had a telling look after riding Aprilia’s 2025 bike for the first time and his eyes appeared to sparkle madly with just a few laps on it.

READ MORE: Jorge Martin told he was asking for trouble before Sepang crash that put Aprilia in a ‘dark place’

There’s no guarantee that they will be at the front, but if they managed to be within a few tenths of Ducati at the Buriram test, imagine where they could be when Martin returns.

With some further development, there’s a chance that they will be able to compete for race victories later on in the season. Defending Martin’s title may be a tough ask, though.