MotoGP 2025’s biggest surprise may well be Aprilia’s next franchise hero

There is no point dressing this fact up: Marco Bezzecchi was signed to be a number two rider at the factory Aprilia squad for 2025. During the blockbuster 2024 summer rider market shuffle triggered by Marc Marquez’s signing to the factory Ducati team, Jorge Martin’s subsequent signing for Aprilia positioned him as the brand’s next ‘captain’.

That was a title that had previously been held by Aleix Espargaro, who joined the marque for the 2017 season and became its first true franchise rider. Eight seasons together saw Espargaro spearhead the RS-GP’s development, bring Aprilia its first MotoGP podium (at Silverstone in 2021) and its maiden victory (in Argentina in 2022).

He was instrumental in convincing Maverick Vinales to sign for the brand midway through 2021 after his Yamaha relationship irreparably soured. And it was Espargaro who helped facilitate the deal between Aprilia and Martin for 2025.

At that time, Martin led the championship for Pramac Ducati, had been told he would be going to the Ducati factory squad before its U-turn, and ultimately went on to win the title that season. Though in the winter Martin and Aprilia played down its chances, there was little doubting that this was a move seen as the final piece for the Italian marque to begin truly battling for world titles.

As the season draws to a close and Martin has just seven rounds on his scorecard due to four major injury setbacks, as well as baggage from a contract dispute midway through this year, that deal - more than Aprilia has paid for any rider - hasn’t aged particularly well.

In the immediate aftermath of Martin putting pen to paper at Aprilia last year, CEO Massimo Rivola said the priority for the second seat was to try to retain Vinales. When he walked, Enea Bastianini’s name was quite heavily linked, before he also signed with Tech3 KTM alongside Vinales.

Marco Bezzecchi’s signing, then, seemed very much like a budget deal to get a proven Italian race winner on an Italian bike, but one yet to truly flourish in the premier class. He was impressive in his sophomore season in 2023, as he scored three grand prix wins on his way to third in the championship. The 2024 season yielded just one podium, as he struggled to get on top of the GP23’s braking performance.

The No.72 was a good rider, no doubt about that, but most to that point had proven to be capable of good performances on a Ducati. It was yet to be seen how he would acclimatise to the surroundings of a factory team, as well as how he could perform on a bike that - at that time - was third-best on the grid.

As the fireworks burst above the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on Sunday afternoon last weekend at the chequered flag of the Valencia Grand Prix, Bezzecchi was celebrating a third win of a season in which he has emerged as perhaps the most lethal non-Ducati threat to Marc Marquez in 2026.

Bezzecchi’s history-making Valencia win another Aprilia warning shot

The 2025 season is a year for firsts for Aprilia. It’s the first season it has finished second in the manufacturers’ table, 350 points behind Ducati. It’s the first time it has achieved four grand prix wins, having also scored its most podiums, as well as the first time it’s had a rider inside the top three in the world championship with Bezzecchi.

Valencia was also a brace of firsts for Aprilia. It got back-to-back poles, courtesy of Bezzecchi, and back-to-back grand prix victories. For the month of November, an RS-GP has never been topped on a Sunday.

Bezzecchi’s sprint at Valencia didn’t go to script. His front holeshot device wouldn’t disengage in the opening corners, dropping him down the order, and left him powerless to fight for the podium.

There were no such issues in the grand prix, however, as he grabbed the lead at Turn 1 and quickly dragged Gresini’s Alex Marquez with him to break away from the field. In a race of tyre management, the flowing RS-GP tends to excel.

As Alex Marquez hit tyre troubles early, Bezzecchi was able to ride his own race. He didn’t drop into the 1m31s until lap 20, but had three more 1m30s in him before his pace dropped permanently into the 1m31s for the final laps.

In yet another surprise for the season counter to pre-year predictions, the rider who gave Bezzecchi the biggest threat was Trackhouse stablemate Raul Fernandez. The Australian Grand Prix winner put on a nice move to take third on lap three from VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio at Turn 6, before carving past Marquez on the 11th tour.

At this stage, Bezzecchi was over a second clear. But Fernandez’s pace was relentless. He never dropped into the 1m31s until the penultimate lap, while his average pace was slightly quicker than Bezzecchi’s. With a better start from fourth on the grid, Fernandez was a serious threat to take a second win of the season.

It was an impressive performance for a rider who just a week prior was ruled out of the Portuguese Grand Prix after a partial dislocation of his shoulder in a fast practice crash. But Bezzecchi “in some corners had a little bit more”, and then ultimately stopped Fernandez from getting into striking distance.

At the chequered flag, the pair were split by just 0.686s in a surprisingly tense finish to a race that looked done and dusted ahead of mid-distance.

Aprilia’s perfect marriage with Bezzecchi

On the cooldown lap, Bezzecchi hopped off his RS-GP to propose to it. He later explained that that was the culmination in a bet with Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola, who said he could keep his 2025 bike if he won three grands prix this season.

It’s an expensive gift for Aprilia to give, but, for Rivola, it’s absolutely worth it.

“For sure, the combination of Marco and the team was something that made the difference,” he said. “Obviously, he is the one who rides the bike, but there is a team behind him. I think also the key is starting from the beginning of the season with Fabiano [Sterlacchini, technical director], building the new Aprilia.”

From the pre-season, Bezzecchi surprised Aprilia by just how much he stepped up to lead the team when Jorge Martin was injured on the opening day of testing. Results in the early part of the year weren’t bad either, with a brace of top six finishes in Thailand and America.

The Jerez test is where Bezzecchi says he clicked with the bike. A key issue with the 2025 RS-GP to begin with was stability under braking. Aprilia was able to iron this out with numerous tweaks, but without taking away the strong point of the bike, which it wasn’t always able to do.

The British Grand Prix was an early reward for all of that work, but from Assen onwards, Bezzecchi was on the podium in either a sprint or main race 10 times. Without question, an Aprilia has never been this consistent.

There is the caveat that Aprilia’s late-season form has also coincided with Marc Marquez’s injury absence. The reigning champion was formidable on the Ducati this year, and there’s little doubt he won’t be again in 2026.

But Aprilia can genuinely start to dream big. And so much of that is down to Bezzecchi, who has flourished into an excellent factory MotoGP rider who is just beginning to step into his prime.

Unquestionably, discussions will be taking place this winter between Aprilia management and Bezzecchi over a new deal for 2027. Rivola called it a “priority” in Valencia. And with Bezzecchi, Aprilia does have a potential franchise rider on its hands, arguably the role it would have envisioned for Martin at last year's Italian Grand Prix.

Who’d have thought that over a year ago?