Neil Hodgson suspects Aprilia told Marco Bezzecchi to accept one thing about Jorge Martin at Misano

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Jorge Martin has sealed an automatic Q2 place for only the second time as an Aprilia rider with P8 during pre-qualifying practice for the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.

The Noale natives also saw both of their factory riders secure automatic Q2 places on Friday, as Marco Bezzecchi ended the 60-minute session in P2. Only Ducati’s champion-elect Marc Marquez outpaced Bezzecchi at Misano with a 1:30.480, compared to the Italian’s 1:30.627.

Martin had lingered outside of the top 10 for most of the session, and he even slipped down to P18 in the timesheet as other riders improved their lap times. But a late tow by Bezzecchi helped Martin climb into P6 with just four minutes remaining of the session with a 1:30.857.

A flurry of late yellow flags due to crashes for Augusto Fernandez at Turn 2, Joan Mir at T10, Raul Fernandez at T15 and Jack Miller at T1 even helped to keep Martin in the top 10 by the close of the session. Martin fell down to P8, as Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini improved.

Neil Hodgson suspects Aprilia ordered Marco Bezzecchi to tow Jorge Martin at Misano

Only when Martin returned from injury at Brno for July’s Czech Grand Prix had he previously sealed an automatic Q2 spot since joining Aprilia in the 2025 MotoGP season. The 27-year-old has also qualified P14 in Austria, P17 in Hungary and P18 in Barcelona since the summer.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend

So, with Martin sitting low in the practice timesheet and facing another Q1 outing at the San Marino GP, Neil Hodgson suspects Aprilia made Bezzecchi accept giving the Spaniard a key tow that put him in Q2 – even if Sylvain Guintoli wonders if the two riders actually get along.

Guintoli said on TNT Sports 2 (12/09, 15:05): “Do you think that was set up, and Bezz sort of agreed to tow him around? I don’t know why, but I don’t picture them two as best mates.”

“Possibly, yeah,” Hodgson replied. He also added regarding the potential role of Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola: “[I can imagine he told them], ‘Listen, we need you to do something here’.” To which, Guintoli added: “For the team, yeah, that’s fair enough from Bezz.”

Marco Bezzecchi may have ‘transformed’ Jorge Martin’s San Marino Grand Prix weekend

Martin was quick to show Bezzecchi his gratitude for the tow as the Aprilia teammates used the shortcut route at the end of the Spaniard’s fastest lap. The defending riders’ champion’s gesture also caught Hodgson’s eye, as the tow might have “transformed” Martin’s weekend.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marco Bezzecchi from net worth to race number

Hodgson said: “That was Martin going, ‘Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. That might have just transformed my weekend if I wasn’t going directly into qualifying two.”

Failing to secure automatic Q2 places at each of the past three rounds following the summer break led Martin to qualify deep in the order at the Austrian, Hungarian and Catalan Grands Prix. But Bezzecchi’s help at Misano could now see Martin qualify well at the San Marino GP.

Martin knows he needs to improve his qualifying performances more than his race pace, as the Madrid native was able to make his way through the order and finish P4 at Balaton Park and P10 in Barcelona. Aprilia saw Martin crash out of the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring.