The rumors regarding Jorge Martin’s future at Aprilia Racing has been the center of discussion throughout the MotoGP paddock. Martin has decided to release his side of the story regarding his exit form the team:
Hello everyone,
I would like to share with all the fans, media and people who follow my career a clear explanation about my situation with Aprilia.
At no time have I ever breached the contract. When we signed it, I agreed with Aprilia that, if certain circumstances were not met, I reserved the right to decide my future for 2026. This was an essential condition for me to accept the contract proposal they offered me at that time.
When I made the decision to change manufacturers last year, one of my premises was to have the possibility to test the bike in real circumstances and to understand the team and its working methodology. In this way I could feel comfortable signing for two years instead of one, and so we included that condition.
Faced with the situation of having to make a decision on a date that is established by contract, I have decided to exercise my right to release myself for the 2026 season. I have always done so respectfully, clearly and with the sole intention of taking control of my future as a professional athlete.
Unfortunately, the circumstances that have occurred as a result of the crashes, although it is true that they do not affect what we agreed, have conditioned this phase. That is why I have always been open to dialogue with Aprilia to extend this period to a certain number of Grand Prix after my return to competition. The aim is that both parties can give each other a second chance and feel comfortable before making a decision for 2026.
I have always been honest with Aprilia, I have always valued the bike, the team and the effort of all the people who are part of the project. The only thing I ask is that my will and the spirit of what we agreed at the time with Aprilia be respected.
There is no conflict or reproach. I just want to be able to look ahead with clarity, after very difficult times and a very serious injury, and to continue to give the best of myself on and off the track.
Thank you all for your understanding and respect,
Jorge Martín
Marco Bezzecchi came out blazing in the British Grand Prix and took advantage of his competitor’s mistakes to secure his first win of the season. Bezzecchi started the race from P11 which is a testament to the ride he put together in today’s race. “It’s an incredible feeling – difficult to describe. Last season was complicated, so I had decided to undertake this new adventure and Aprilia has always believed in me. I couldn’t dream of a better first win with Aprilia. The team is working extremely well, as is the staff in Noale, and I am extremely happy and grateful to all of them. We must never stop working. It won’t be easy, but we have never given up and we have never stopped believing.”
Alex Marquez who won the sprint race crashed out of the grand prix in the first corner ended his chance at a double win for the weekend. He was able to recover to P5 by the end of the race. The battle then started at the front with Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Johan Zarco. However, Quartararo ran into misfortune after his bike suffered from a technical failure that results in a DNF despite building a 5 second lead at the front.
Quartararo Gutted After Mechanical Failure From Lead
Quartararo was visibly gutted due to the DNF. He said, “It was an amazing race for us, but unfortunately we had a technical issue with the rear-height device. I think this was ‘our race’. Everything was good. I knew where to push, I knew where to exaggerate a bit more on braking considering the wind. Everything was under control until that lap. I think we can be happy with what we did today. The bike was the best it’s been in a while, by far. I was riding very smoothly, and I felt we were going super fast. So, there will be more opportunities, hopefully. I feel that we have made a step. Not enough yet, but we are getting stronger and stronger. I have made a great race. I won’t say it was the best of my career, but maybe of the last 3-4 years. Of course, I’m really disappointed, but I think we have to keep our head up.”
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MAY 25: Fabio Quartararo of France riding the Monster Energy Yamaha (20) retires from the British Grand Prix due to a technical issue at Silverstone Circuit on May 25, 2025 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/LAT Images)Pressure on Jorge Martin After Bezzecchi Win
Last year’s champion Jorge Martin has had a season of misfortune thus far in 2025. Aside form his injuries Martin has never seemed to find a harmony with his Aprilia. Additionally, there are rumors spiraling that Aprilia are ready to move on. No official decision has been made, but without Martin on the track Aprilia is losing valuable points in the manufacturers championship. Additionally any run for the title in 2025 is no longer on the table for Jorge Martin. Now that his teammate has won a race the pressure to perform has grown. There is a big portion of the season left and anything can happen.
Alex Marquez breaks the mold again with a deserving Silverstone Sprint race win. Alex Marquez has strung together a collection of podiums thus far this season. Most of which were shared with his brother Marc Marquez. Despite Alex winning the sprint, Marc Marquez still holds a 19 point lead in the championship standings. The pair have battled it out back and forth at the top of the table every race weekend in 2025.
Alex Marquez emerged as the race leader after out pacing Marc Marquez quite rapidly at the start of the race. Alex won the race by an incredible 3.5 seconds. He said, “We’re happy: both Marc and Pecco placed me as the favourite, but until you take to the track, you never know where you’re really at. Tomorrow it’ll be a whole different story but for once I must say that on paper we can battle for the win with Marc. For now, we’ll enjoy this first sprint win.”
SIlverstone Sprint Race Results
The long wait is finally over for the country of France as Johann Zarco has finally ended the 71 year dry spell for a Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix. Emotions erupted from the stands as Zarco set foot on the podium with celebrations lively from his countryman. The grand prix was declared a wet race and Zarco took full advantage of the situation building up a near 20 second lead ahead to comfortably take the win.
The race started off red flagged due to the shift in weather but at the restart Francesco Bagnaia went down in Turn 3 on the very first lap. He said, “My strategy from the beginning was to stay on track no matter what. Unfortunately, I had some significant spinning at the start and had to close the throttle. Just before turn one, I was passed by several riders, and then came the contact with Enea (Bastianini). These things can happen, especially when there are riders on slick tyres and others on wets in the same race — speeds are very different. I’m sad because had I re-joined straight away, without needing to return to the pits due to the bike damage, I could have finished in the top five. But unfortunately, everything went the wrong way today.”
Unfortunately, for Bagnaia Marc Marquez finished P2 which further widened the gap ahead in the championship race for Bagnaia. Marc Marques widened his lead further from his brother Alex Marquez who crashed twice in the race eliminating all possibility of a podium finish. The crashes also meant Marc Marquez came away with a large points advantage on his brother.
Quartararo Falls Short
Hometown hero Fabio Quartararo crashed out of the race on lap 4 heading into the final corner of the circuit. Quartararo got tangled up with Brad Binder and both would suffer DNFs although Binder was able to recover and stay in the race for 3 more laps before retiring. Marc Marquez walks away form the French Grand Prix with a 22 point lead ahead of Alex Marquez.
French Grand Prix Results
Marc Marquez returned to his winning ways after a battle at the front with Fabio Quartararo denying the Frenchman a win on home soil. With the win, Marquez became the first MotoGP rider to achieve 6 consecutive Sprint race wins. After the race he said, “I’m happy. The feeling aboard the bike is always very positive and, step by step, I’m improving some more. I felt good today: I was patient enough and took my time in the first two-three laps, when it looked like Quartararo was pulling away, and this was a moment of the race in which it was key to manage tire wear the best way. The important thing was to stay right up there without making any mistake, in a race that was characterized by very strong lap-times and frenetic pace.”
His teammate Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race; thwarting his opportunity to score points early in the weekend. Alex Marquez returned to the podium with more consistency after finishing P2 again in the sprint. Despite winning the Spanish Grand Prix, Alex Marquez wasn’t able to keep the top spot. As a result Marc Marquez retook the championship lead after the sprint by 2 points.
Ahead of the grand prix Marc Marquez is looking to create some space between himself and the pack in the championship race. Thus far this season he’s only lost out on points due to his own mistakes. Its clear Marc Marquez still has the best overall pace and heading into the French Grand we expect he will continue his surge.
Standings After The French Grand Prix Sprint
Marc Marquez continues his stroke of dominance in the MotoGP paddock with a bounce back finish on Day 1 of the French Grand Prix. Marquez who crashed out of the grand prix in Spain and lost the championship lead to his brother is looking to regain the championship lead this weekend in France. Marquez set a 1m29.822s lap time which cleared the next rider by over a half second in FP1. However, in practice ahead of qualifying, Fabio Quartararo was able to pull within 2 tenths of Marquez in his recent surge of performance.
Marc Marquez said, “We did a good job, but it’s only Friday, and there’s still something to work on. We made a few steps forward in the afternoon – I felt more comfortable especially in the second and third runs – so let’s see how things go tomorrow. I think the lap-times will be even closer, but I’m having fun and continuing to work to improve.”
Alex Marquez finished practice P5 which may or may not be an accurate indicator for his performance to come in the sprint. Insider reports suggest Alex Marquez was working on tire management strategy in practice. We believe his true pace in France is yet to be revealed.
Practice Results
Red Bull KTM’s rider Pedro Acosta underwent arm pump surgery on his right forearm. Acosta is expected to be fit and ready for the French Grand Prix which is set to take place in one weeks time. The team made the following social media post regarding the surgery update.
Acosta has faced adversity thus far this year after failing to podium and struggling to stay in the top 10 on more than one occasion. This was in part due to the destabilization that occurred at the beginning of the season when KTM’s financial problems were unveiled to the public. However, the team is still operational and functioning; business as usual.
The wait for Alex Marquez is finally over as the young Spaniard secured his first MotoGP win today at Jerez at the Spanish Grand Prix. Alex Marquez has been the most consistent rider in 2025 finishing on the podium in all but one race thus far this season. After securing his first win Alex Marquez reestablished himself as the championship leader again at the demise of his brother who crashed from third place early in the race. Alex Marquez now holds a 1 point lead in the MotoGP championship race over Marc Marquez.
Francesco Bagnaia fought hard for another podium to keep his championship fight hopes alive. “After the battle with Marc on lap one, I pushed hard to try and catch Fabio (Quartararo), but unfortunately I didn’t have enough to overtake him,” said Bagnaia. From then on, I wasn’t able to be as effective as Alex (Márquez) at turns 11 and 12; I couldn’t make the most of them to get closer. In any case, this is a third place that, with Marc’s crash, allowed me to narrow the gap down to the championship lead. Today I couldn’t fully exploit the bike’s potential, and therefore I’m not fully happy.”
Fabio Quartararo Returns to the Podium
Fabio Quartararo pulled out a surprising P2 finish after a long drought from finishing in the podium places for the former champion. Despite the challenges over the the past few years he found what was required to get the job don’t today at Jerez. He said, “It’s incredible! I am over the moon! To be on the podium is something super special. The moments we lived this weekend: with my team, with my crew, with my family, and my friends were amazing – especially making the pole position. Leading the Sprint and Race and making the podium was nice. Fighting at the front is a great feeling. Being at the front and leading a race is something I love.
The gap to the winner was not so big here, Alex Marquez just had a bit more today. To keep Pecco [Bagnaia] behind us all race by 0.5s was so difficult. It’s been a long time, but I’m super happy to be back on the podium in Jerez. Thank you to the fans at home voting for me as the ‘Rider of the Race’. Thank you also to all the fans that were here to support us. Also yesterday, after the crash, they all applauded, so a big thanks to them, and see you in Le Mans! I’m super happy to have done this podium before the French GP. Le Mans is also going to be super special because it’s a track that I like, there are many fans there, it’s my home GP, and there will also be some nice liveries there.”
Spanish Grand Prix Results
After a surprise pole position from Fabio Quartararo the pressure was on for Quartararo to perform and potentially bring home his first podium of the season. However, those hopes went up in smoke after he crashed during the sprint which paved the way for Marc Marquez to steal the show again and win the Spanish Grand Prix sprint. Marquez extended his championship lead with the win.
“Managing the situation is what I’ve been repeating to myself this weekend: it’s clear that I’d like to be on pole and win every time,” said Marquez.”…but if there’s no way of doing that, it’s surely still good. I got a couple of scary moments in two fast corners during my time attack in qualifying. The mistake is always around the corner: we’re very fast and we showed it. Today we took a few risks in order to pull away, then we managed the situation until the end. Tomorrow’s race will be a long one, and it’ll be hot. We’ll keep in mind that the feeling on the bike may change.”
Despite setting the lap record in practice Alex Marquez was not able to catch his older brother.
Sprint Race Results
Alex Marquez showed heart on day one of practice at Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix. After crashing for a second time on the day earlier in the session Marquez bounced back to set the al out lap record with a 1:35.991s lap. For the first time this season Alex Marquez looks to be running ahead of his brother Marc Marquez who has emerged as the fastest on the grid in MotoGP thus far in 2025. Alex Marquez will look ahead to maintain his place at the top and claim pole.
“Today I was maybe overconfident and then crashed twice, said Alex. “The second one, in particular, was a heavy one, even though I was almost unscathed. The best thing about this Friday was the reaction: I chose to stay put for half hour and then get back on track just for the time attack. It went well, even though we’ll have a lot of work to do tomorrow, especially with regards to race pace.”
Practice Results