Martin’s Aprilia MotoGP switch: “The difficult thing for Jorge will be…”
“To jump on another bike that is not at the same level, it's not going to be easy.”
As well as the challenge of a different machine, Aleix Espargaro acknowledges there will be times when Jorge Martin needs to adapt his mindset during next year's Ducati-to-Aprilia switch.
The current MotoGP title leader is effectively replacing Espargaro at Aprilia’s factory team in 2025.
But while Espargaro worked his way from the back of the grid during eight years on the RS-GP, Martin’s whole MotoGP career has been spent with Pramac Ducati, where he was a winner in only his sixth grand prix.
Ducati’s Desmosedici continues to dominate this year’s world championship, filling the top four positions in the standings, winning every grand prix except COTA and all but three Sprints.
Aprilia is the only other manufacturer to have won, courtesy of a grand prix victory for Maverick Vinales at COTA plus Sprint wins at Portimao (Vinales), COTA (Vinales) and Catalunya (Espargaro).
But while Ducati is unbeaten in a Sprint or Grand Prix over the past seven rounds, Aprilia struggled badly in the last two events at Aragon and Misano.
Vinales' has now slipped behind KTM riders Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta for seventh in the world championship. Espargaro is ninth.
Dealing with that kind of difficult weekend, where all riders on the same bike are struggling, will be a new experience for Martin.
“The difficult thing for Jorge will be that I came from P20 and reached a couple of victories, which is not easy, but it meant I got used to riding a not good bike. And he's now riding the best bike. Winning races. Being the fastest every session,” Espargaro said.
“So to jump on another bike that is not at the same level, it's not going to be easy. But his desire was to come to Aprilia. He had other options and he chose Aprilia. So no regrets.
“It's not going to be easy, but it's the decision he took. You need to go full [commitment] and Aprilia has the capacity to tune up the bike to him and he has enough speed to be the number one in Aprilia.
“So nothing is easy, but he will make it [work].”
Martin’s lead over Ducati's reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia has been reduced to just seven points heading into this weekend’s second Misano round, after a costly pit-stop error in the San Marino GP.
“He knows he made a mistake and he will learn. It will make him stronger,” Espargaro said. “This is part of the process.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
