Aprilia will make its “biggest leap forward” in 2025

Still under contract with Ducati until the end of the calendar year, Jorge Martín was entitled to a preview of the Aprilia during the Barcelona test but was unable to express his feelings. For a few more days, the world champion cannot speak in detail about the sensations experienced during his debut on the RS-GP but during a conversation with Motorsport.comhe allowed himself some initial comments.

The day spent in Barcelona had the merit of showing Martín that his new manufacturer had made great progress on the prototype that Marco Bezzecchi and he will pilot in 2025… and which is still subject to evolving since it was not than a first version of the one that he will test in more depth in Sepang, at the beginning of February.

“I can’t say too much about the bike, but you all saw my face there”Martín told us. “I was happy and I don’t think I could have been happier than at Aprilia. I find the new package very interesting and it’s the biggest leap forward in motorcycling in recent years. The potential is high and looks good.”

It remains to be seen whether this new motorcycle will correct Aprilia’s main weaknesses. Just before discovering it, Martín spoke to the official MotoGP website and expressed the need to fully understand the intricacies of the Italian machine after a season that saw him oscillate between sprint victories and one on Sunday. , but also some very difficult weekends, especially at the end of the season.

“The first thing is to understand the true potential of the bike because it’s hard to understand”summed up Martín. “Sometimes they are super fast and unbeatable but elsewhere they struggle a lot. I think I can bring consistency but I have to see the real potential and what my position will be in the rankings.”

“This year, Aprilia is off to a better start than ever, but it is true that from the Aragón GP onwards they started to regress”he added during his conversation with Motorsport.com. “It’s very complicated to understand what’s going on from the outside. It’s very hard to understand how you can win in Austin from the back, like Maverick [Viñales] did it, and in Jerez, just after, to finish more than 11 seconds behind.”

To progress, Aprilia has restructured and increased recruitment in recent weeks. In addition to the new rider duo, the brand will have a new technical director, Fabiano Sterlacchini, and Martín has already witnessed the efforts made to close the gap with Ducati.

“The involvement, Aprilia has it, and I saw it with my eyes. I saw how much they wanted me and what they are going to do for me. But they feel the responsibility to welcome the champion We all want to win but to do so, we must apply a strategy and have a real work dynamic.”