Jorge Martin’s potential departure from Aprilia was a post-French Grand Prix bombshell that no one in MotoGP expected.
The reigning champion’s time at Aprilia may be up before it has even started, having failed to see the chequered flag in a race for them yet.
Martin has been impacted by three separate incidents, which have seen him sidelined for the majority of the MotoGP season so far.
Honda are his most likely suitor for 2026, but first, he still has plenty of work left to do alongside teammate Marco Bezzecchi to fix a dismal start to the current campaign.
Aprilia may have found their Martin replacement already in Enea Bastianini, who has factory team experience and has been suffering at Tech3.
In fact, Martin’s Aprilia return in 2025 is uncertain and there is no guarantee that he ever rides one of their bikes again.
Aprilia have a ‘mess’ Marco Bezzecchi cannot fix if Jorge Martin leaves for 2026
After an electric showing during pre-season, Aprilia were expected to be fast even without Martin. However, Bezzecchi has struggled with a ‘brutal’ issue.
The decelerations of the bike have been tough to cope with, and without much help for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to see results improving.
Mat Oxley believes that fixing the current bike situation may be too difficult for Bezzecchi to do on his own, in the wake of Martin’s potential departure.
“It could be silly season nonsense of course, but I completely agree with you that Aprilia are in a bit of a mess at the moment,” he said.
“They’ve lost their number one rider. If you lose your number one rider, you’re going to be in a mess. Marco Bezzecchi obviously struggles, he’s never been a factory rider before, so he’s never had to develop stuff, which is a new thing. I think Bez is more of a heart rider than a head rider.
“Also, he’s coming out of a year on a GP23 with the 2024 tyre, and I think he really struggled last year. So, he’s not in an ideal position to lead that project.”
Who could Aprilia sign to replace Jorge Martin?
Although it’s a bit premature to be looking at who Aprilia could sign to replace Martin, acting sooner will save them a headache in the future.
Silly season moves quickly and there aren’t a whole host of riders that are going to be out of contract at the end of 2025.
Honda’s Luca Marini and Johann Zarco are going to be available, while Yamaha’s satellite team Pramac are yet to renew Miguel Oliveira or Jack Miller.
Ai Ogura, although a rookie, would make great sense, considering he’s already an Aprilia rider with Trackhouse, but they may feel that he needs more time before stepping up to the gig.
Finally, Ducati’s VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli is yet to renew and could be available, while all KTM riders are under contract until the end of 2026 (a fee would be required).
