Aprilia Race Director Massimo Rivola on the upcoming collaboration with Marco Bezzecchi, his adaptation to the RS-GP and the pairing with Jorge Martin
Half of the bikes for the upcoming 2025 MotoGP season have now been allocated, but the other half have not yet. Among the five factory teams in the field, Aprilia has also decided on its two regular riders for 2025 and 2026 after Ducati and KTM. Unlike Ducati and KTM, however, the factory team from Noale is replacing not just one, but both riders
It has been clear since the beginning of June that Jorge Martin will take over from Aleix Espargaro, who will retire at the end of the 2024 season. And on Monday of this week, exactly three weeks later, Martin’s future team-mate was also announced: Marco Bezzecchi will succeed Maverick Vinales at Aprilia, who is moving to Tech3-KTM.
Aprilia is aware of the risk of replacing both factory riders for 2025. However, they are taking this risk consciously. “Last year, these two finished the world championship in second and third place. The hope is that they will do even better with us next year,” says Aprilia Race Director Massimo Rivola about his two new signings Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi.
Aprilia admits: Two new factory riders not ideal, but …
“It’s true that replacing both riders is never a wise decision in terms of continuity. But if you can get two talents of this caliber, then it’s worth the small risk. I think the decision should be met with enthusiasm,” says Rivola, who admits that swapping both works drivers “was the only question mark we had”.
After Rivola had already explained his reasons for signing Jorge Martin three weeks ago, he has now commented on the reasons for signing Marco Bezzecchi: “I have an anecdote to tell. ‘Bez’ was the first person I offered this seat to. That was four years ago, when we were in a deep crisis.”
“At the time, he was one of those who turned it down because he knew the facts. He had a secure Moto2 position with VR46, a very strong team. He was aiming for the World Championship title there and he knew that he had a good chance of moving up to MotoGP in Valentino’s team if he did well,” Rivola recalls.”
Why Bezzecchi was signed
And that’s how it happened. Bezzecchi did not become Moto2 World Champion, but after finishing third in the 2021 World Championship, he and Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team were promoted to the premier class together. In his now almost two and a half MotoGP years, Bezzecchi has won three times, including last year at the debut of the motorcycle world championship at the Buddh International Circuit in India.
This absolutely convincing victory in India was not least one of the reasons why Aprilia has now struck and signed ‘Bez’ for 2025 and 2026. “He impressed me in the rain in Argentina last year, but even more so in India. It was a new track for all of us except for me,” says Rivola, adding with a laugh: “I knew it from Formula 1, but I don’t play a role. “
In terms of temperament, the Aprilia race director, who once worked for Ferrari, sees parallels between Bezzecchi and two great MotoGP characters from Italy: “On the one hand, there is his talent and his speed. Apart from that, he has a bit of a character like ‘Vale’ [Rossi] and a bit like [Marco] Simoncelli. But I would like to emphasize that we signed him because he is really fast, not because he is a character. “
Rivola believes: The Aprilia suits Bezzecchi well
Marco Bezzecchi comes to Aprilia from VR46-Ducati, Jorge Martin from Pramac-Ducati in the winter. Neither of them have ridden a motorcycle other than a Ducati in their MotoGP careers to date (since 2022 and 2021 respectively). The switch to the Aprilia RS-GP will therefore be the first brand change for both of them in the premier class. Rivola hopes that the changeover will not take much time
“On paper, I see him as a good fit for our bike,” says the Aprilia race director about Bezzecchi and explains: “Marco is someone who is always very strong on fast tracks. In this respect, our bike suits him well. Whenever he crashes – I’m thinking of Silverstone last year, for example – it’s always because his front wheel slipped off after he perhaps braked a little too long. Our bike should help him in this respect.”
“Of course, we have to get to know each other first and we have to let him ride our bike in the first place. Ergonomics is one of the crucial factors, especially because he has been riding for the same manufacturer for years. Hopefully the changeover will be quick, because we will have to get results quickly,” said Rivola.
After Martin and Bezzecchi, will Aprilia also get their crew chiefs?
After Bezzecchi and Martin’s commitments have now been finalized, are they also thinking about bringing their respective crew chiefs – Matteo Flamigni from VR46 and/or Daniele Romagnoli from Pramac – over to Aprilia? “We haven’t talked about that yet. We have initially concentrated on the rider market, but the technician market will be opened up soon,” says Rivola.
According to Rivola, the planned approach is as follows: “We have to look at our team first, of course, but also at the teams where the drivers come from. We will try to disturb the balance as little as possible, unless a rider feels that he absolutely needs a particular technician. As an example, I would mention Maverick [Vinales], who really needed ‘Manu’ Cazeaux.”
Now that 11 of the 22 MotoGP bikes for the 2025 season have been firmly allocated to riders and the other 11 bikes are currently unoccupied, you could start to think about which team has made the best choice.
When Rivola is asked whether he thinks it is Ducati with Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez or Aprilia with Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, his answer is: “When I look at us, I am very happy. I don’t think we could have done any better. I couldn’t imagine a better rider duo for next year. “
