Jorge Martin admits: 'Not an easy relationship with Aprilia

Jorge Martin ended the first part of the MotoGP World Championship at the top of the standings, with a 14-point lead over Ai Ogura and another 18 over Marc Marquez. A provisional leadership that encourages continuing down this path, but also pushes to look for other solutions ahead of the restart. The rise of Ducati’s Spanish champion inspires some concern, while ‘Martinator’s’ feeling with the Aprilia RS-GP is still shaky.

A year ago, Jorge Martin was pushing to terminate his contract with the Noale manufacturer early. Crashes and injuries had demoralized the 2024 world champion, who was determined to move to Honda at all costs. Massimo Rivola and Aprilia’s top brass blocked his transfer a year before his contract expired, under threat of very hefty financial penalties. Since then, a “cold war” atmosphere has reigned in the garage, but that hasn’t stopped the 28-year-old from Madrid from fighting for the MotoGP title. As confirmed by his first place in the overall standings.

But in recent races and at the Sachsenring, Jorge Martin struggled quite a bit. In Germany, he finished fifth, over 11 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez. “It’s clear we’re getting something wrong because, just as you win when you do things right, we’re making mistakes when things don’t go the way we want. Especially because the other Aprilias are more competitive than mine. We need to work, stay focused, and have faith. I think we can do it, but it’s about reflecting on what worked well and getting back to our former levels.”

Brand-mates and rivals, particularly Marquez, are chipping away points race by race, also helped by Marco Bezzecchi’s stop. “Being in the lead obviously makes me happy because six months ago it was unthinkable, but I think it’s only a temporary setback because if I continue like I have in the last races, it won’t last long,” he admitted to Dazn’s microphones after the Sachsenring Grand Prix.

He has long since made official his move to Yamaha for next year, but it shouldn’t affect his relationship with Aprilia and his run at the MotoGP title. “To tell the truth, it hasn’t been an easy relationship since last year, with everything we’ve gone through in the garage. But we’ve managed to separate the personal from the professional,” Martin emphasized. “They know they need me and I need them. In the end, we’re all in the same boat if we want to fight against Marc Marquez and Ducati.”

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