Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin endured an injury-plagued first season as an Aprilia rider in 2025, which also saw the Spaniard try to break out of his two-year contract to join Honda in 2026.
The 27-year-old made the move to Noale in 2025 after missing out on a factory Ducati ride, as the Borgo Panigale outfit decided to sign Marc Marquez instead. Martin believed he was in line to join Ducati after fighting for the title in 2023 and 2024 with satellite team Pramac.
But Martin would only start seven of the 22 Grands Prix held during the 2025 season, as he sustained injury after injury. The worst came when Martin sustained a hemopneumothorax and broke 11 ribs in Qatar, which also tempted him to reconsider his commitment to Aprilia.
Martin informed Aprilia at Le Mans that he intended to break his contract, as May’s French Grand Prix marked the final round for a performance clause in his terms. Aprilia refused to accept Martin’s exit clause, however, as they said his lack of action through injury voided it.
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Jorge Martin now sees that Marco Bezzecchi’s 2025 British Grand Prix win was a positive
Amid their dispute, Martin agreed a three-year contract with Honda, but the Japanese crew would not formalise it due to Aprilia’s insistence that he would stay in Noale in 2026. Martin agreed to stay at Aprilia after Honda withdrew their contract and later retained Luca Marini.
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Marco Bezzecchi was also starting to show what the RS-GP25 could achieve in his first year with Aprilia whilst Martin tried to leave the team. Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo retiring at Silverstone saw Bezzecchi win the British Grand Prix for the first of his nine podiums all year.
Bezzecchi’s glory brought mixed emotions for Martin, who now admits that he “didn’t really like” seeing his new teammate achieve success at Silverstone at a time he was trying to quit Aprilia. But Martin realises that Bezzecchi’s victory was a positive sign for Aprilia’s potential.
Martin told The Race: “From my point of view, it was a difficult situation, because I was in some conflict with Aprilia.
“On one hand, it was good that Aprilia was working, and this was really motivating me for my comeback because I thought that I could do a really good job. But on the other hand, I was in a bit of a fight with them, and I didn’t really like that they were doing good.
“I wasn’t really looking a lot at the races, because I needed to switch off for a month with no motorbikes, and this was the period when Marco won in Silverstone and was making some good races.
“But now, for sure, I can see it was a really good thing, and now I feel really good with Aprilia and that I’m an Aprilia racer. I’m glad that Massimo [Rivola] retained me, let’s say, and finally we went in a good direction together.”
Marco Bezzecchi scored three of the four wins by Aprilia riders during the 2025 season
Martin beat Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia to win the 2024 title, which meant he took the No1 plate with him to Aprilia in 2025. The Madrid native agreed to a two-year contract with the Italian factory in June 2024 shortly after Ducati decided to sign Marquez to a two-year deal.
But success was non-existent for Martin in 2025. He fractured his right hand and left foot in the Sepang test, fractured his left hand training on a Supermoto, broke 11 ribs and suffered a hemopneumothorax in the Qatar GP, and also broke his collarbone in the Sprint in Japan.
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Bezzecchi showed the RS-GP25 had a lot of potential as the Italian also went on to win the Grands Prix in Portugal and Valencia, as well as the Sprint Races at Misano, Mandalika and Phillip Island. Also, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez won the Australian GP for his first win.
Martin admits his hand “wasn’t ready” to return in Qatar, when he crashed and was struck by Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46. Likewise, Martin returned in Valencia despite not being fully fit for the final event, as he wanted to ride in the post-season test to prepare for 2026.
Next year will be a big year for Martin, beyond simply wanting to bounce back from a year of endless injury problems. The MotoGP rider market will explode next season, with most pilots out of contract, and Honda have not closed the door on signing Martin for 2027 yet.
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