Much of the attention at the launch of Aprilia’s MotoGP project for 2025 centered on the question of whether Jorge Martin would run the #1 plate or continue to run his traditional #89. It was never really going to be a question, Martin explained as he unveiled his bike. “I didn’t have any doubt about running the #1, because I’ve been fighting for this all my life.” Perhaps there is a generational shift taking place, with riders preferring to run the #1 plate again after Pecco Bagnaia broke the perceived curse in 2023.
The unveiling was done well, though it wasn’t captured on the live video stream. As Aprilia PR boss Antonio Boselli spoke to riders Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi before the livery was unveiled, the backdrop behind Martin showed his old number, #89.
As Martin took the cover off the bike, it quickly morphed into his new number, #1.
It was a nice touch. And perhaps a sign of what is to come from Martin. What had impressed most about Jorge Martin during the 2024 MotoGP season was his ability to handle pressure. Especially the second half of his campaign, as he edged ever closer to his goal. Martin’s 2024 season was marked by consistency and resilience above all.
Speaking to the media afterward, Martin explained the growth process that allowed him to cope with the disappointment of losing in 2023, and turn that into victory for 2024. His feeling in January 2025 was the polar opposite of 2024. “For sure it’s very different compared to one year ago. Exactly one year ago, it was one of the worst moments of my life actually. So I’m happy about this because I feel great,” he explained.
He had forced himself through that low point of January 2024 to work toward the new season. “I felt last season, well, for the past two years, maybe I wasn’t motivated to to race. I mean I was racing and I was training because I’m really disciplined. So I was moved by that discipline and because I made a lot of sacrifices to do my job.”
The secret to turning that around had been working with a sports psychologist, of learning to deal with disappointments and frustrations and keep going. It has changed his trajectory as an athlete, and as a human. “I mean, yeah, since I started doing that, I’ve been doing it until now and I will work always on my mental side until, you know, even after retirement. I think it’s really the key of life,” he said.
This has helped Martin cope with the very different situation he finds himself in. At first, he was worried that actually becoming champion would make him lose motivation. “I feel I’m really motivated, and I’m keeping this discipline. Because I had a bit of fear that, okay, after winning, maybe I would think, it’s okay, I won already, so let’s say just enjoy. But for me, it’s not like this. I feel like, I hope it’s the beginning of something big. I’m training, I think better, not more, but better than than ever in my life, and doing the things really in a good way and understanding why I do certain things.”
That changes how he approaches 2025. After a promising start, the bike he has inherited was far from competitive in the second half of last year. The Aprilia RS-GP bagged just 9 podiums from a possible 120 podium spots across GPs and sprint races. Martin, together with teammate Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez – Aprilia are supplying all four RS-GP riders with the latest version of the bike – have to turn the bike into one that is competitive at more tracks, and capable of far more consistent results.
It is a challenge Martin relishes, though he would not be drawn on a definite target or time frame. “Now I have my own challenge to make this this project win. I think it’s a really nice project. Nobody did it in the past, nobody won with an Aprilia MotoGP bike. So you know, I have a lot of excitement to do that and I will go for it. I have a lot of determination. But as I said in other places, I cannot guarantee any results because this is completely impossible. I cannot guarantee I will be … I mean, winning or top three? I don’t know. But I can guarantee my 100% determination. A lot of sacrifices to to make this project a winning project.”
A big part of that is motivating the team of people around you. One of the keys to the success of riders like Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez is how they created such incredible loyalty and dedication in their teams. The people around both Rossi and Márquez would walk into a burning building for their rider. When you’re stuck in a hole with no obvious solution in sight, that is the difference between success and failure.
It looks like Martin understands this as well. “Since the beginning and our experience together in Barcelona, I saw immediately on Monday that he was the world champion and already a combination between a champion and a leader,” Aprilia’s Technical Director said. “At the end of the test he took all the people in the technical meeting and he made a speech with all the people and I was a bit astonished; is this a first minister of the world? Or is it a rider? In terms of the motivation and the message he was delivering. So chapeau, because in the end he is only 26.”
Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola confirmed that. “He is already a leader. He wants to be one and he understands that to be the world champion he is already a leader. In a way it is surprising the attitude that he has so far and then we will see what we have when there are tough times. But his approach is the one of someone that fights a lot and has worked a lot to be in this position. I think he is a good leader and I appreciate that.”
Teammate Marco Bezzecchi sees that he can learn a lot from Martin. “Well, first of all, his speed is huge,” the Italian said. “I mean, he’s able to reach an amazing level of speed in such a short time. Every time he jumps on the bike, he’s very fast. So will be important for me to try to use him as a reference, to see his data, to see the way that he works inside the box and try to copy everything that he does better than me. He is the world champion so at the end, he is the strongest one at the moment.”
But it wasn’t just the way Martin rides that Bezzecchi felt he could learn from. “Apart from the skills on the bike, he also has a very good work ethic. He trains very well. But also he is very focused, very motivated every time. I’m also motivated, but it’s difficult to be always really motivated every time, it’s difficult to keep this motivation for all the season, all the races. Also, when you have tough times.”
This was an area where Bezzecchi struggled in 2024, he explained. “For me, last year was really tough and sometimes I struggled to keep myself motivated. Jorge passed some difficult times in the past. He had to change completely his plans. But he kept anyway a strong mentality and a strong motivation. This is a good example to understand how much stronger Jorge is. So this is something that I will try to do as well and try to take him as a reference to improve myself.”
Both Martin and Bezzecchi felt heartened by the visit they paid to the Aprilia factory in Noale, Italy. “It’s great. It’s so so good,” Martin said. “I, you know, everybody wants to be valued. So when I arrived in there in the factory and I see all the people were so emotional with me and Marco also, I think both of us, arriving there, you know it was crazy. And I already feel the love from the factory to us. I also feel already that like, it’s my family. I will kill for them. So this is also important. I never felt this before in my life in a factory, like in other brands that I rode for. So, I’m so so happy and I think it’s a big motivation for for all of us.”
Being in a factory team is a new experience for both Martin and Bezzecchi, and both riders will have to adapt. “The first experience in a factory team was very cool,” Bezzecchi said. “It’s a big difference from satellite to a factory obviously. At the end you are the face of a full brand. So you have hundreds of people working in your back, working for you and it’s amazing.”
Coming back into the garage after a run was when Bezzecchi really felt that. “The biggest difference is inside the box. The people are much more. And when you stop there are a lot more people around you. And it was very cool.” Intimidating too. “Also I was a bit nervous because when I sit on my chair, I saw so many people that I said. ‘OK, now, if I say some bull**** it’s a problem!’ But was very cool. Also I saw so much work in the factory and they really try to give you everything that you need.”
That held true for Jorge Martin as well. “The first day was great. I think, already in testing I felt a lot of support from all the people, who were really interested in my comments. But I think, for sure, I need to adapt a bit to their style of work, let’s say, and maybe they can take a lot of positives also from my style of work. Because it was quite different. I feel that working with Aleix maybe was much different than working with me in terms of how I ride or how I do the runs.”
“But then I saw that they were really, really methodical after the test to analyze the test. Normally, I remember in Pramac I was working and I was giving my comments, but then, when I finished, I finished. Here, when we finish we we still had like two hours meeting to try to understand the priorities, where to go, my priorities. And I actually feel that they will work on my priorities, so this is really important. So that’s why I wanted to be a factory rider and now finally, I feel that support.”
Martin can see that he still has work to do to adapt to the Aprilia RS-GP. “For sure I think I need to change a bit the style. At the Barcelona test I was riding like it was still a Ducati, so for sure I need to change a lot my style.”
He has been watching video to help him with that adaptation process, Martin explained. “I’ve been working already during winter trying to analyze how can I be better. I’ve been watching a lot of races to try to understand what they were doing well, with Maverick in Austin, or with Aleix in Silverstone. Like the positives. And yeah, I think the bike is really good. I need time to adapt to it. And that’s it. We can we can do a great job.”
Both Martin and Bezzecchi praised the front end of the Aprilia RS-GP. “I immediately felt good on the bike, the position of the bike is different, quite a lot. But the biggest difference also was the front that was really, really stable,” Bezzecchi told us. “It’s a characteristic of the Aprilia. A big stability. The bike gave me a good confidence immediately in straight braking. This was quite different from Ducati, that is in another position so when you brake, the bike reacts in a different way. Then also of course, the way to ride is completely different, so I will need to adapt lap by lap, more and more.”
Martin joined Bezzecchi in praising the front end of the Aprilia. “The front feeling was incredible. It was unbelievable. I mean I think, I said it before, I think it was the best bike I rode in terms of the front end, it was crazy.”
As Martin got faster, he started running into the limitations of the bike. “I was a bit slow at the beginning but then I started to to build some speed and I started to see a bit of progress for me. Maybe it wasn’t for Aleix or Maverick, but for me there were some problems, like the movement was a bit more, you know, unstable than Ducati.”
“Then we started to do some changes and and everything became more stable. So we tried new things for 2025 that were quite good. Also about the fairing, about the new bike in general, it’s a big step compared to 2024, so I’m really optimistic.”
“And let’s say that the traction also, I struggle a bit, but I think it’s much more for me to adapt to the bike than from the bike itself. I feel like the bike is really good and really competitive, but I need time to get to know it and understand where to push, where to gain time, or where to, you know, where to ride more slowly.”
The impression I came away from the Aprilia launch with was that Jorge Martin is exactly the right person to be leading their attempt to close the gap to Ducati. Martin’s talent is beyond question – he is, after all, the reigning world champion, and had to beat a double world champion to take that crown. But talent alone isn’t enough to help Aprilia make that next step.
If it was, then Maverick Viñales would have made the difference to the Noale factory. And if hard work was all that was needed, then Aleix Espargaro would have gotten the job done. The fact that Aprilia finished third (just) in the manufacturers’ standings is evidence enough that these things are not enough.
Martin has the talent, the work ethic, and the mental toughness to make the difference. But he also understands that teamwork, motivating yourself and the people around you, the human touch is how you achieve your goals. Working together, getting everyone on the same page, is the secret to success.
Motorcycle racing is a peculiar sport. Once the lights go out, it is an utterly solitary pursuit, rider and machine in perfect harmony trying to extract the maximum performance from the package. But getting to the point where a rider is left alone astride a racing motorcycle is a massive collective effort, a huge team of people, from engineers to mechanics, from coaches to assistants, from nutritionists to hospitality staff to management, are crucial to building a successful effort. Tying that together takes a remarkable personality. The kind of personality that Jorge Martin appears to possess.
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