MotoGP champion Jorge Martin’s COTA visit “kept secret from Aprilia”
Aprilia reveals Martin COTA visit was a surprise for the team
Aprilia MotoGP boss Paolo Bonora says reigning world champion Jorge Martin’s visit to the Americas Grand Prix was a “surprise” for the factory team.
After Ducati made a U-turn on its decision to promote him to its works squad for 2025 in favour of Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin signed a multi-year deal with Aprilia’s factory team.
Making an encouraging start to life at Aprilia in the November Barcelona test last year, in which he was the fastest of the riders swapping manufacturer for 2025, Martin has yet to start a race for the brand.
Completing just 13 laps on the opening day of testing at Sepang, Martin crashed and suffered multiple fractures, before injuring himself further in a training accident prior to the Thai Grand Prix.
He has been out of action since, with Martin aiming for a racing return in next month’s Qatar GP.
Ahead of his racing return, Martin has come to the Americas Grand Prix as part of a team bonding exercise and a first chance to understand how Aprilia works during a race weekend.
Team boss Bonora says his visit was kept a secret from the rest of the crew.
“Boost and energy are the correct words, for sure,” he said about Martin’s visit at COTA during MotoGP’s world feed coverage of FP2 on Saturday.
“It was a surprise for the team.
“We kept it secret for the team, so they were absolutely excited to see him.
“But it was important for Jorge to be here because after many days without feeling the race situation, it is important for him.
“It’s the first step to get him into the rhythm.”
Aprilia had been lobbying with MotoGP to open up the regulations to allow Martin to have a day of testing prior to his racing comeback.
Under the concession rules, only Yamaha and Honda are allowed to test with their race riders freely during the season.
While an official request was made to the championship, it was not unanimously agreed on by the manufacturers’ association - though Ducati claims it was not the one who stood in the way of Martin’s test being approved, as had initially been reported by Aprilia.
