Marco Bezzecchi ‘won a bet’ to keep his Aprilia after Valencia MotoGP victory
Marco Bezzecchi’s Valencia MotoGP win has come with an extra special prize
Victory at the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix has seen Marco Bezzecchi win “a bet” with Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola to take his 2025 bike home with him.
The 27-year-old confirmed third in the 2025 standings on Saturday in the sprint in Valencia, though was left unhappy after being unable to fight for the podium from pole position.
But Marco Bezzecchi led Sunday’s Valencia Grand Prix from start to finish, absorbing big pressure from Raul Fernandez late on, to secure his third main race win of the campaign.
On the cooldown lap, Bezzecchi stopped to propose to his RS-GP.
Asked about this after the race, Bezzecchi says his marriage celebration was linked to a bet he had with RIvola, who said he could keep this year’s RS-GP if he scored three grand prix victories.
“Let’s say that, now it’s super trendy to get married, and I wanted to be a little bit more trendy because normally I don’t follow these things,” he joked on Sunday evening.
“I love my bike. It was super cool.
“I won this bike in a bet, because with Massimo I told him ‘if I was able to win three races, then then bike was coming home’.
“And I won the bike. So, I had to ask her if she wanted to marry me, and fortunately, she said yes.”
On where he will keep the bike, Bezzecchi says it will take pride of place in his living room in a space he has kept empty all season.
“Not in my bedroom, but I have a perfect place,” he began.
“It’s in my living room. I have a huge space that I kept all season empty, and it’s the first thing I see when I go inside the house.
“So, like this, when I went back home from training, I remember very well what to try to achieve.”
Bezzecchi said his struggles in the sprint were a “slap in the face”, though this made him “angry” enough to spur him on in the grand prix.
“Well, yesterday, after the pole position, I was super confident.
“But in the sprint I took a slap in my face because I wasn’t able to fight for the podium.
“This, for sure, made me angry and motivated to be able to fight today. So, I’m very satisfied.”
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