{"id":668843,"date":"2026-05-13T19:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668843\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:41:11","slug":"aprilia-jorge-martins-le-mans-motogp-victory-a-big-reward-after-exit-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668843\/","title":{"rendered":"Aprilia: Jorge Martin\u2019s Le Mans MotoGP victory a \u201cbig reward\u201d after exit saga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Massimo Rivola admitted his \u201cfirst thought\u201d after Aprilia\u2019s historic Le Mans MotoGP podium sweep was Jorge Martin\u2019s dramatic decision at the same circuit one year earlier.<\/p>\n

That was when the injured Martin <\/a>travelled privately to Le Mans and informed Aprilia of his intention to activate an exit clause and leave at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

Aprilia <\/a>resisted, insisting the clause was not valid because of Martin\u2019s lengthy injury absence and maintained that they could still succeed together.<\/p>\n

Martin eventually backed down and – despite further injuries at Motegi, then corrective surgery over the winter – is finally showing the form Aprilia expected when they signed the 2024 MotoGP <\/a>champion.<\/p>\n

\"Martin, <\/p>\n

Martin, Bezzecchi, Ogura Aprilia 1-2-3, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n

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No higher than fourth between injuries last season, Martin\u2019s Aprilia rise culminated in a perfect double of Sprint and grand prix wins at Le Mans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s quite a day. My first thought goes to one year ago here in Le Mans when Jorge wanted to leave. And today is a big reward for us, together. The choice was right and super happy about that,\u201d Rivola told MotoGP.com<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s victory, combined with three earlier wins for team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, means Aprilia has been defeated in just one grand prix so far this season; Alex Marquez\u2019s Gresini Ducati win at Jerez.<\/p>\n

Martin is now just one point behind title leader Bezzecchi, runner-up at Le Mans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not joking when I say that I’m not looking very much at the classifications, both riders and constructors,\u201d Rivola insisted. \u201cI know that we have a strong bike, we have a strong package, we have strong riders, we have a strong team [but] I think still it is too early.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wish the best to Marc [Marquez] to come back as soon as possible and in good shape, because we want to fight with the best Marc possible. And, for sure, there are some Ducatis, there is Pedro [Acosta], there are many riders. But if we keep pushing, it can be a good year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jorge <\/p>\n

Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, with Marc Marquez out injured and third in the standings Fabio di Giannantonio (Ducati) some 44-points from the top, many see a Bezzecchi-Martin battle brewing to become Aprilia\u2019s first ever MotoGP champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe simple rule is that they must respect each other,\u201d Rivola said. \u201cIf they will do that, there will be no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The added dynamic of a Bezzecchi-Martin title battle is that Martin is set to leave at the end of this season, while Bezzecchi is confirmed on a new two-year deal.<\/p>\n

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Although official rider announcements are currently on ice while manufacturers negotiate with MotoGP SEG over the next commercial contract, Martin is expected to join Yamaha and be replaced by Ducati\u2019s double MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia.<\/p>\n

\"Massimo <\/p>\n

Massimo Rivola, Jorge Martin, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n

Asked by Sky Italia about the images of Rivola and Martin hugging in parc ferme, and whether he was \u2018thinking about a reunion or staying like this\u2019, Rivola replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be really nice, but I think Jorge made his choice a long time ago and I don’t blame him for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I challenge anyone in a situation like his last year, not being physically well, important offers coming in, it’s possible that he doesn’t have confidence… maybe in us too, but I can imagine in himself too.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo I’ll give my all for Marco, I’ll give my all for Jorge, I’ll ask the team to do the same, then whoever deserves it most will be the one up front, that’s it.”<\/p>\n

Who will win the 2026 Catalan MotoGP race?Pedro Acosta<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Marco Bezzecchi<\/p>\n

30% (12 votes)<\/p>\n

Pecco Bagnaia<\/p>\n

5% (2 votes)<\/p>\n

Fabio di Giannantonio<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Jorge Martin<\/p>\n

38% (15 votes)<\/p>\n

Alex Marquez<\/p>\n

23% (9 votes)<\/p>\n

Ai Ogura<\/p>\n

5% (2 votes)<\/p>\n

Pembalap lain (beri tahu kami di komentar)<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Total votes: 40<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Massimo Rivola admitted his \u201cfirst thought\u201d after Aprilia\u2019s historic Le Mans MotoGP podium sweep was Jorge Martin\u2019s dramatic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[18009,10669,64,63,5744,10732,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-668843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aprilia","tag-aprilia-racing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-jorge-martin","tag-marco-bezzecchi","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}