Martin is a double-edged sword for Aprilia in MotoGP

Last year, the MotoGP transfer market remained stable until Ducati agreed on Marc Marquez as Francesco Bagnaia's team-mate for 2025 and 2026. The verdict from the Bologna brand was made effective in Mugello, and that's when Jorge Martin and Aprilia moved rapidly to announce the arrival of the Madrid native once he found out that he had been discarded to wear the red overalls.

Aprilia hurried and prepared an impromptu film to anticipate the announcement from Ducati and Marquez, which occurred days later. Some considered that as a great effort by the PR department of the Noale plant, even if no one missed that it was Ducati which always had the upper hand, and which achieved what it wanted.

Half a year after that furious racing weekend in Tuscany, Martin presented himself on Thursday as the new standard-bearer of Aprilia's project and with the #1 plate, which accredits him as MotoGP world champion. It's a genuine luxury for the Italian corporation, compelling it to pick up a notch so as not to fall short like in the last two seasons, in which it started in the finest way conceivable then faded as the season continued.

Aprilia claims to be conscious of the burden of having the champion, and the necessity to accelerate up to lessen the margin that Ducati has formed behind it. While the Borgo Panigale manufacturer experienced the finest year in its history in 2024, its 'neighbour' took a tiny step back and stayed in third position in the constructor's rankings, with 25 less points than KTM, which preserved the second spot it had previously gained in 2023.

The two triumphs and six podiums from two years ago were relegated to a single victory in a season that concluded last November. However, the current circumstances looks ideal for Aprilia to ultimately overcome the Austrian manufacturer, which is immersed in a dramatic rescue procedure owing to the massive debt it holds, from which it is still not clear how it will escape. While creditors put pressure on KTM to exit the competition in 2026, the four riders under contract already know that the development of their motorcycles will be restricted to a minimum, a condition that should have a substantial influence on the performance of the RC16s.

While KTM wobbles, Honda and Yamaha continue in their unique struggle to climb out of the hole in which the two remaining Japanese contenders in the championship are trapped. Although they have concessions and, among other things, have far greater latitude to improve their prototypes, the gap that separates them from the others is too vast for them to bridge that distance before the revolution in the regulations scheduled for 2027. Thus, Aprilia has before it the perfect setting to continue developing if it does things properly, but it also runs the danger of being exposed if it does not take the step forward that is expected.

Signing Martin gets rid of any concerns regarding the quality of the rider, and concentrates all investigations on the bike, the second variable in the equation. "Having Jorge? You may call it pressure or motivation, but pressure is ultimately motivation. And responsibility is also incentive, so we have fantastic drive," Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia's racing branch, told Motorsport.com.

"Aprilia can provide him a good spot and a nice bike to ride and to win. It's evident that we are not the benchmark, and we also know whose bike is. But becoming the alternative to that benchmark is our objective," adds the executive.

On the other side of the garage will be Marco Bezzecchi, who is expected to regain the consistency he lacked last year.

"I've always felt that there are cyclists with greater talent than myself. I've won races with Aprilia. With the talent Jorge has, I think he's very capable of challenging for the title with this bike. I'm not saying he'll do it instantly, but I do believe he can do it," says Aleix Espargaro, holder of three of Aprilia's four triumphs in MotoGP, and who currently conducts testing responsibilities at Honda.

With Martin and Bezzecchi, Rivola and his club are guaranteed to have one of the most potent line-ups at the present. Several signs imply that the commitment obtained by hiring the champion is not merely the consequence of a simple chance presented by the market but is accompanied by a true desire for progress. At least, that's what can be deduced from several signs.

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The link-up with Trackhouse, the satellite team, has been enhanced following a first encounter that started in a hasty way and without space for modification for either side. Raul Fernandez faced half the season on a bike from the previous year, an evident handicap in the speed of development of the RS-GP. Aprilia acquired a useful lesson from this if we consider the deployment it will carry out in the first collective pre-season testing that will take place in Sepang in February.

There, it will deploy 10 units of its current specification (RS-GP25), two per head both in the factory garage (Martin and Bezzecchi) and at Trackhouse's (Fernandez and Ai Ogura). The other two will travel to the testing division workshop. It's an articulate declaration that is endorsed by Fabiano Sterlacchini, the technical director who came at the end of 2024, and who will replace Romano Albesiano, who signed with Honda.

"Having the champion is not just a responsibility but rather a big opportunity. Jorge comes as the world champion and gets off the reference bike. That will assist us to evaluate ourselves and to know where to focus our efforts, which is an important part in our job. What we desire is to reach the summit, but for that, we have to take steps. The first thing will be for the riders, who are new, to thoroughly acclimate to their new bike. Only then will they be able to get the greatest performance out of what they have," stated Sterlacchini during the launch ceremony.

Aprilia sets up a new stage with Martin's name and his new plate on display. A plate, #1, which logically also bears danger. "We are a firm capable of withstanding the effect of the entrance of a world champion. If we fail it will be our fault, no one else's," confesses Rivola. In his benefit, it plays that he keeps it in mind, at least to avoid subsequent surprises.