Aprilia announced Jorge Martín as one of its riders for MotoGP in 2025. The contract was quickly secured, according to Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola, who provided some details about the entire process.
This afternoon the Italian spoke to the press about the announcement of the new driver: ‘Obviously I’m super happy, it’s a good opportunity. This is part of growing the team. I should start by thanking a lot of people, but first of all our boss Michele Colaninno. Nothing more to say. The championship is still quite long. Fortunately we have a little rest, so we have to digest this and then be back and focused for the next race. And before that, go to Misano for our Aprilia All Stars party‘.
Discussions with other drivers only began after Aleix Espargaró’s retirement was announced, according to Rivola: ‘As I always told you, if anyone asked me, since Aleix decided to retire we started talking with everyone. The strategy was quite clear not to take the first step, because we didn’t want to give anyone a gift. But when we felt there was an opportunity – it was actually last night – we were quick enough to take action rather than talk. We reached an agreement very, very quickly – also thanks to Aleix for that. And here we are‘.
The Aprilia CEO added: ‘I think timing was a factor, because we were really, really fast. Last night I called my boss and said, “We have a chance.” And he said, “Go ahead.” And I did it. We had the whole team, the lawyers who worked all night to make this happen. I don’t know if this is based on emotions, but I like to think that Jorge’s choice is because Aprilia has seen steady growth over the years. We are actually the only ones winning races so far as an alternative to his current bike. This is another piece of the puzzle to solve.‘.
This response from the CEO of the Piaggio Group, Michele Colaninno, did not surprise Rivola: ‘The answer…my boss is pretty hungry and we need to find some very motivated and hungry pilots. I’m not really surprised, because I’ve seen in the past that every year we grow in terms of resources and the bike is the result of that. This is pretty good news. I can’t say I’m super happy, but I’m super happy‘.
As for the moment he learned of Martín’s acceptance, the leader of the Noale maker team said: ‘It was, let’s say, evening, but I immediately called my boss. Obviously, after Barcelona we started to think and talk with the drivers – not just Jorge – to understand what the feeling was in the driver market. And There you go‘.
Regarding the apparent rush to make the announcement, Rivola clarified: ‘I think announcing at this stage, being the first to announce, shows that we can act quickly and decide quickly. It was simply a matter of “let’s solve this, that’s done, and focus on the next step”‘.
