Jorge Martín in shock MotoGP jump to Aprilia
It’s all drama in the upper echelons of the Italian contingent in the MotoGP paddock at the moment. Jorge Martín’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it leap to sign with Aprilia for 2025 trails what is widely believed to be an announcement that Marc Marquez will be taking the Ducati factory seat Martín had previously been linked to.
Signing on the dotted line in the closing minutes of Monday’s working hours, it seems Aprilia wasted no time in capitalising on championship leader Martín’s rumoured jilting by the Bolognese marque. Indeed, the ink was barely dry when the announcement was made, just 30 minutes afterwards.
“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing,” said Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO.
“Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”
The dominoes began to fall when Marquez made the ultimatum of ‘factory or nothing,’ and given how well Marquez has been doing in his first year riding Italian machinery and his status and standing as an eight-time world champion, reportedly Ducati bit.
The rumours left Martín, who had previously been heir apparent to the seat, without a 2025 ride. And so, to a meeting with Aprilia he stormed, to swiftly inherit the retiring Aleix Espargaro’s seat.
The signing is in a way vindication for Aprilia, which has been on a determined march up the MotoGP order over the last couple of years. Now a producer and preparer of race-winning machinery, it’ll have the current championship leader of 2024 on its books and on its bike for 2025. More news as we have it when the Marquez news officially breaks…
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.
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