Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin impressed on his comeback to MotoGP at the Czech Grand Prix as he came home seventh for Aprilia.
The defending MotoGP champion was not classified in the standings ahead of the race, having not completed a Grand Prix. Martin has been sidelined with injuries for much of the year.
It was an emotional comeback for the Spaniard and Aprilia at the Czech Grand Prix as the two parties were reunited after three months. Martin almost cried during his press conference; he had been bombarded with questions about his future.
Martin is set to stay at Aprilia in 2026 after surrendering his bid to leave the team, as his contract included an exit clause. The Noale outfit were stubborn over their desire to keep their star rider, with neither party able to agree on a compromise.
The 27-year-old crashed the RS-GP25 every time he rode it before Brno. However, he is now faced with a very different bike, and he is set to benefit massively from the work the Aprilia factory have done.
Massimo Rivola has seen ‘unprecedented’ upgrades from Aprilia in 2025 that will benefit Jorge Martin
Aprilia have gone to ‘incredible’ lengths to improve Martin’s bike, with the work of technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini and teammate Marco Bezzecchi. The latter essentially had to develop the RS-GP25 on his own as the only factory rider on the grid in Martin’s absence.
In that time, Aprilia have made significant improvements during official tests, with Bezzecchi winning at Silverstone and finishing second at Assen and Brno last weekend. Journalist Neil Morrison says Massimo Rivola has seen ‘unprecedented’ progress from the factory.
This will be music to Martin’s ears, as he is set to benefit hugely from their upgrades: “What we’ve seen in the last five, six races is a consistent package, which is the second-best package on the grid,” said Morrison via the Paddock Pass Podcast.
“And Bezzecchi’s been doing that mostly by himself, with the occasional little starring role from Ogura here and there at the start of the year, he’s gone a bit quiet recently. Raul Fernandez was pretty impressive this weekend, but generally it’s kind of been Bezzecchi that’s done this.
“And we’re going to hear from Massimo Rivola in a bit, but he just was saying that he has to take his hat off to Fabiano Sterlacchini, the new technical director that’s come in this year.
“He said that Jerez test, improvements came, Aragon test, further improvements came. And Rivola said it’s kind of unprecedented in his career in motorsport that the factory brings things to help the rider and upgrade the bike and they work.
“And this has just been kind of happening, but they have worked in succession and the package just has gone from strength to strength this year.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
Could Marco Bezzecchi make Jorge Martin’s comeback difficult at Aprilia?
Marc Marquez is ‘sure’ Martin will have ‘good races’ on his return to MotoGP. He certainly proved that at Brno as he made it automatically to Q2 and battled to finish P7.
Of course, the Spaniard still has a way to go to reach full fitness. Martin’s father was seen putting his gloves on for him as he clearly still felt the effects of his scaphoid injury in the winter.
Rivola says Martin needs three races to ‘get his act together’ and then compete with teammate Bezzecchi. He has a four-week break to continue training and be 100% fit for the next race in Austria, but the 27-year-old could feel the pressure from the other side of the garage.
Bezzecchi has effectively assumed the role of lead rider, having developed the RS-GP25 into a competitive machine. Now sitting fourth in the standings and fully accustomed to the bike, Martin has his work cut out to match, let alone beat his teammate.
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