Aprilia Calls Jorge Martin’s Le Mans Victory a Huge Reward

Jorge Martin finally delivered the victory Aprilia had been waiting for after a turbulent year surrounding his future with the Italian manufacturer. Martin’s dominant performance at the 2026 French MotoGP was even described by Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola as a “huge reward” for the entire project.

The emotional significance of the result was amplified by the fact that Le Mans was also the scene where Martin attempted to trigger an exit clause exactly one year earlier. At the time, the injured Spaniard privately travelled to Le Mans to inform Aprilia of his intention to leave the team at the end of the season.

Aprilia resisted the move and argued that the exit clause was not valid due to Martin’s lengthy injury absence. Despite the difficult situation, the manufacturer continued to believe the partnership could still become successful with the 2024 MotoGP world champion.

Baca JugaJadwal Lengkap Moto3 Catalunya 2026 dan Agenda Veda Ega

After several additional injuries and corrective surgery during the off-season, Martin is now finally showing the level of performance Aprilia expected when it first signed him.

At Le Mans, Martin completed a perfect weekend by winning both the Sprint Race and the main grand prix while leading Aprilia to a historic 1-2-3 finish alongside Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura.

“It’s quite a day. My first thought immediately went back to one year ago here at Le Mans when Jorge wanted to leave. Today is a huge reward for all of us together. The decision we made was the right one,” Rivola told MotoGP.com.

Martin’s victory also reinforced Aprilia’s dominance during the opening phase of the 2026 season. So far, the manufacturer has only failed to win one grand prix, when Alex Marquez secured victory for Gresini Ducati at Jerez.

Martin now sits just one point behind Bezzecchi in the MotoGP championship standings, increasing expectations that the 2026 title fight could become an entirely internal Aprilia battle.

Despite the growing momentum, Rivola continues trying to calm expectations regarding Aprilia’s championship ambitions. He stressed that the season remains long and rivals such as Ducati and Pedro Acosta still represent major threats.

“I’m not really looking too much at either the riders’ or constructors’ standings. I know we have a strong bike, a strong package, strong riders, and a strong team. But it’s still too early,” Rivola explained.

Rivola also sent support to Marc Marquez, who is currently sidelined through injury. According to the Aprilia boss, the team wants to defeat Ducati while competing against the strongest possible opposition.

Although Martin is still expected to leave Aprilia at the end of the season to join Yamaha, Rivola insisted the team will continue giving full support to both Martin and Bezzecchi throughout the championship battle.

“I will give everything for Marco and I will also give everything for Jorge. Whoever deserves to be in front the most will be the one who wins,” Rivola said.