About 10 months ago, when Aprilia presented its most ambitious project to date in MotoGP, Marco Bezzecchi posed to one side of the frame in the Sky network studios in Milan, ambitious as ever, but with the spotlight focused elsewhere. As Italian as he was, at his side was the Spaniard Jorge Martín with the number one in the championship, called to be the flagship of the racing department of the Piaggio group brand. Now, when the contest lands on the Ricardo Tormo circuit for the Valencia GP, no one in Noale doubts who is now the leader of the project, the best positioned in the difficult task of ousting Marc Márquez and Ducati from the throne.
“Marco is doing an extraordinary job, and not just because he is consistently fast. With each passing day, whatever position he is in, he always manages to take a step forward and be even faster,” explains Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing manager. “Marco is a guy who works hard, very good at discussing what the bike needs with the engineers, who listen to him carefully and know how to combine their feelings with the data very well” adds the manager.
Although it wasn’t an easy start to the season, far from it, Bezzecchi assures that he never doubted the potential of the Italian car. “What happened to Jorge at the beginning of the season was unfortunate, and he had a lot of bad luck. Even for us, both for me and for the team, it wasn’t easy to manage. There was a lot of work to do. Maybe with him on the track it wouldn’t have been less, but it would have been faster and more fluid. For the engineers, having two opinions instead of one is certainly much better” says the 27-year-old from Rimini.
Injured and frustrated at home, Martín launched a contractual order against Aprilia that almost collapsed the foundations of the Noale brand. With the convalescent from Madrid and Bez In no man’s land, unable to reach the MotoGP Top 5 in the first six races of the year, fully adapting to the new bike, the Italian duo emerged from nowhere in the UK GP to take a first victory. “Although the beginning was complicated, we also managed to draw positive conclusions in the midst of many difficulties. We worked hard, we had the necessary confidence and we believed in ourselves, all this allowed us to get closer,” he says when asked about the goal of beating Márquez Ducati, the only route to the title.
After convincing his injured workshop neighbor with his results, who returns to Cheste this weekend to contest his fifth race out of a total of 22 possible, Bezzecchi was able to seal his best season in MotoGP, with two victories, eight podiums and four pole position which allowed him to oust his colleague from the driver academy formed by Valentino Rossi, the three-time champion Pecco Bagnaia. With third place in the World Cup, Aprilia signed its best competitive year in the premier category with three victories (Raúl Fernández, with the Trackhousewon in Australia) and that third place in the World Drivers’ Championship.
“I’m really happy with how the team is working and I would like to congratulate both the factory and Marco for the results they have achieved,” explained Martín before getting on the bike on Friday, with his collarbone finally ready, but his physique still far from what he wanted. The Madrilenian’s idea is to turn the page after his injury-plagued 2025 and immediately start building bridges with Noale to start next season with guarantees. “Jorge’s only limit is himself. He will have to be patient and we will do everything we can to make him feel at ease and understand that we are all here to help him”, says Rivola with a touch of diplomacy.
Bezlike Martín, he made a risky bet when he chose to become an official Aprilia rider. He left behind the Ducati which continues to dominate the grid, and also abandoned the VR46 team of the Tavullia masters. “These changes are always difficult, because you are afraid of not finding the same support with new people. There they knew me so well, even with my flaws, that I didn’t know if I could ever feel safe with this group, but luckily it was phenomenal,” recognizes the pilot, a fan of Rubik’s cubes and animals who named his pitbull after the famous puzzle.
Despite having left Rossi’s nest, Bezzecchi specifies that the imprint of the myth is still very present in his mind and in his riding style. “Vale is always ready to help you, it’s something he loves. The more you involve him, the more he gives himself heart and soul. When we train on the motorbike at home, I always torture him with questions. Even at the races we use to sit down every day and I can ask him my doubts about the day,” he says of his truly luxurious advisor.
Although the garage hierarchy has changed sign after this suffering 2025, both Bez like Aprilia, they avoid making a clear statement on the subject and refer to the formula that drove them this year. “It’s about piece work and continuing to improve,” the pilot concludes. “There are no secrets here. The harder you work, the better you get, and you should never believe that what you have is enough. If you think this, you can forget about winning next year,” concludes Rivola.
