Why Jorge Martin faces a far more difficult Aprilia task than he realises against one ‘very impressive’ MotoGP rival

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Jorge Martin is nearly ready to make his official return to MotoGP action, but first he must participate in a private test with Aprilia to ensure he is ready.

The reigning MotoGP champion has sat out the majority of the season after suffering two big accidents. One happened just laps into his pre-season debut, while the other happened in Qatar.

As a result, Martin will have failed to see the finish flag in any race in the first half of the season, after being ruled out of the German Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t cleared to hop onto his Aprilia at the Sachsenring this week, but that’s down to the physically demanding nature of the circuit.

Martin could ‘immediately’ reverse his push to exit Aprilia if he realises that their bike is better than he thought it would be across the rest of 2025.

However, Aprilia are risking a bigger fallout with Martin by failing to sit down and discuss a potential compensation fee for a departure. It might just push him in the other direction.

READ MORE: Honda’s top management are not ‘too happy’ with what they’ve now seen from Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin’s Aprilia return will be made difficult by ‘very impressive’ Marco Bezzecchi

With Martin’s camp discussing drastic Aprilia action, much of the focus has been on the rider who hasn’t actually scored any points for them this season.

In the background, Marco Bezzecchi has been steadily building some momentum and even secured a double podium at the most recent race in Assen.

It’s his first campaign on the Noale-based manufacturer’s bike too, and now that he’s used to it, he’s starting to produce some serious results.

MotoGP’s Jack Appleyard spotted this at pre-season testing and correctly gave him some plaudits for his performance.

“I’ll put my neck on the line – for me, Bezzecchi has been the most impressive rider, out of everybody, in preseason,” he said, according to Crash.

It’s part of the reason why Martin might not find it easy when he returns to Aprilia to beat his teammate, especially early on. He’s a very talented rider and has been working with the team all year now. He knows what works and what doesn’t.

READ MORE: Jorge Martin wants Honda to perform a U-turn after sending them a ‘bold’ message during Assen weekend

How successful has Marco Bezzecchi been with Aprilia in 2025?

While Bezzecchi looked promising at the first few races, he was hit with some bad luck and suffered consecutive 14th-place finishes at Jerez and Le Mans.

Since then, he has been in electric form, claiming four consecutive top-four finishes. He took a win at Silverstone in testing conditions and has been his team’s main source of points in 2025.

As a result, he sits sixth in the riders’ championship but things are only getting better for the Italian manufacturer as the season goes on.

There’s a real chance that when Martin returns and his input helps them develop the bike even better, they could be Ducati challengers in 2026.