Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin appears to have had a change of heart about Aprilia as he looks set to stay for 2026.
The Spaniard and his manager Albert Valera had been pushing for a move away from Aprilia after activating an exit clause in his contract. It allowed him to leave the Noale outfit early if he was not in a competitive position in the championship by Le Mans.
But the manufacturer have stood their ground with Martin’s contract. Aprilia say the exit clause is invalid due to the rider only taking part in one race in 2025 after suffering several injuries.
The matter looked set to head to court as neither party seemed willing to reach a compromise. But Martin is now ‘certain’ to stay at Aprilia after making his return to a MotoGP bike in private testing.
Lorenzo Savadori says Martin stopped ‘suffering’ when he rode the RS-GP25 at Misano this week. Having reported a nice feeling on the bike, Aprilia are excited to have the defending champion back on the grid in Brno.
Massimo Rivola insists that Jorge Martin is ‘happy to stay’ at Aprilia
Marc Marquez says Martin has made the ‘most sensible’ decision in choosing to stay at Aprilia. The relationship between the two parties may very well be awkward, but Massimo Rivola has made one thing clear about the Spaniard.
Speaking on the grid ahead of the German Grand Prix on TNT Sports 2, the Aprilia boss says Martin is ‘happy to stay’ where he is for 2026.
Discussing having a ‘full team’ again for Brno, Rivola said: “Yeah, finally. I was in Misano, I saw Jorge happy to feel fine. I was happy to see Jorge physically fine.
“I think he’s also enjoying the bike first, because he was missing the bike, and second because I think he got a good feeling from the RS-GP25, so looking forward to Brno, for sure.
“You know my point was never under discussion. But the important [thing] is he is happy to stay. We’ll see in Brno, because he can tell us.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
Aprilia suffer double retirement in German Grand Prix disaster
Aprilia have looked to have the second-fastest bike on the grid behind Ducati in recent races. Marco Bezzecchi has won a race at Silverstone and finished third at Assen, which will excite Martin about what he can do on the bike when he returns.
However, the Noale outfit did not capitalise on their pace at Sachsenring. Test rider Savadori suffered two accidents during the Grand Prix, the second being particularly nasty as the bike landed on top of him.
Laps earlier, Bezzecchi had been running in second after Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed at turn one on lap 20. But the Italian lost the bike himself at that corner moments later, sealing a double DNF for Aprilia.
The team will be boosted by Martin’s presence at Brno, but he will not have it easy when he comes back. Aprilia have made Bezzecchi their lead rider after changing their priorities in the Spaniard’s absence.
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