The new complicity of Martín and Bezzecchi

Their past confrontations in small categories, notably the fight for the Moto3 title in 2018, had not really forged a great friendship. Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, two strong and willingly cash characters, are now united to form a duo on which Aprilia is banking heavily. And is it the maturity or the challenge of this new role of official pilot, that they are both discovering? Still, the time has come for appeasement and the foundations of a new, much warmer relationship.

“Actually, I was a little scared because in the past we had tensions, not only in Moto3 but also in Moto2. We weren't really good friends,” admitted Jorge Martín. “I think we are both more mature now, we are very good together.”

Passing by Noale before the Aprilia presentation last week, in order to meet the teams and undergo photo and video sessions, they were able to test their new bond. “It was good, we have already started working together. For both of our sakes, I think the best thing is for us to be united, to push towards the same goal. On the track, we 'will face but outside of it, it is very important that we act together', understands Spanish.

Marco Bezzecchi knows for his part that the spotlight is mainly focused on his teammate, who wears the number 1 of world champion. Obviously serene and composed after the break, the Italian sees it as an opportunity for him to continue his progress as a driver.

Seeing in this new teammate “a chance and a great honor”Bezzecchi set himself a goal: “learn and continue to progress”. He knows the magnitude of the task that awaits him :“It's going to be hard because he's very strong, the strongest in the world at the moment. But it's also a great opportunity to try to learn and grow.”

“At first, it will be important to try to work together but it will not only be at the beginning: in the end, we saw our opponents rely on a lot of data and strong pilots and that is something that strengthens the whole group”, recalls the Italian, who knows the Ducati method well in this sense and hopes to replicate it: “We have to try to adapt quickly and do the same thing. It will be important to work with Jorge and try together to move things forward as best as possible, especially from the first tests.”

“Trying to copy everything he does better than me”

He who wants to quickly forget his missed season of 2024, Bezzecchi displays his humility in the face of his new sidekick and assures that he wants to take him as an example on several points. “First of all, he has enormous speed. He is able to reach incredible speed in a very short time as soon as he gets on the bike. So it's going to be important to try to use him as a reference, to watch his data, the way he works in the booth, and trying to copy everything he does better than me”, he explains.

“Apart from his abilities on the bike, which are great, he also has a very good work ethic. He trains very well, but he is also very focused and very motivated all the time. I am very motivated too but it's difficult to be at full strength all the time, to maintain this motivation throughout the season, all the races, including in difficult moments.”

“For me, last year was very hard and I sometimes struggled to stay motivated. He also went through difficult times in the past, he had to completely change brands but he still maintained a strong mentality and great motivation, so it's a good example to understand how strong Jorge is. It's something that I will also try to do and I will take it as a reference to improve myself.

With Vincent Lalanne-Sicaud