Aprilia “won’t have any more excuses” after signing Jorge Martin

When it became apparent that MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin would not be chosen ahead of Marc Marquez for the factory Ducati seat in 2025, Aprilia acted very quickly.

The Italian manufacturer signed Martin last week following the Italian MotoGP at Mugello, before announcing his arrival 30 minutes after pen was put to paper.

Martin, who had always desired the factory Ducati seat alongside Francesco Bagnaia, now has hush wish of being a full factory rider, but with Aprilia who have become the closest competitors to Ducati of late.

Discussing the signing of Martin and why they opted for the Spaniard, Massimo Rivola said: “We wanted to have a top rider because Aleix [Espargaro] is stopping his career with us and he deserved to have the best possible rider after him.

“He actually helped us in bringing Jorge here. I think Jorge fought for the title last year, he will fight for it this year and we want to fight next year but with our bike.

“Let’s see if we can do the super couple with Maverick [Vinales]. But we are happy and motivated.”

Martin, who leads the world championship by 18 points, could become world champion in his final year with Pramac Ducati, which would mean bringing the #1 plate across to Aprilia.

Paddock whispers last season indicated that Ducati would have promoted Martin had he won the world championship, so losing him to Aprilia would hurt if Martin goes on to claim the title.

Whether he wins the title or not, signing Martin was a huge statement by Aprilia and Rivola says there is nowhere to hide in 2025 and beyond.

“It’s a big excitement,” revealed the Aprilia Racing CEO. “The message for the company is that we won’t have any more excuses and this is why it is important to have another rider like Maverick, who for the moment is the reference for us.

“Let’s see how everything will go but super happy about it obviously.”