Ducati boss responds to Aprilia, Jorge Martin MotoGP rule change proposal

Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi says that Aprilia’s proposed rule change to allow injured MotoGP riders to conduct a test before returning to racing should not be implemented in 2025.

Aprilia’s proposed change would allow riders who have missed multiple races through injury to return to riding a MotoGP bike at a private test, rather than being thrown straight into a race weekend.

It would have an immediate impact for Aprilia Racing rider Jorge Martin, who has been injured since preseason testing and won't return to racing until at least the Qatar Grand Prix in April.

Davide Tardozzi said that, while he agreed with the idea of the rule change, he expected it would be something to be implemented for the 2026 season, rather than midway through this year.

“I think that it could be a good idea for the future,” Tardozzi told MotoGP.com pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard during FP2 on Saturday morning in Argentina.

“I think that we faced the same problem with [Enea] Bastianini [in 2023], but nobody gave us the opportunity to let him test.

“So, I think that it could be a good opportunity to change the rules for next year.”

The Ducati Lenovo Team manager added that he doesn’t think Martin is in need of a test before he returns to MotoGP, and will be one of Ducati’s rivals regardless.

“I think that Jorge [Martin] will not need a MotoGP test,” Tardozzi said.

“I think that when he is recovered, he will be one of our [rivals]. We know very well Jorge, and we know that he will be one of the guys that will fight with us for the victory.”

Current MotoGP rules mean that only manufacturers in concession tier ‘D’ – currently only Honda and Yamaha – are able to conduct tests with MotoGP machinery with their official race riders.

Additionally, private training carried out by riders must be conducted with production bikes.