Bezzecchi, Martin react as Aprilia brings back iconic logo: "The Lion represents us”
Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin ready to roar with 2026 Aprilia MotoGP livery.
Sticking with its traditional black livery for the 2026 season, one of the most visible changes for Aprilia’s latest MotoGP livery is the return of the company’s Lion head logo on the side of the RS-GP.
The Lion, inspired by a historic symbol of Venice near Aprilia’s hometown of Noale, has featured in various forms in the company’s branding since the 1980s.
“It’s super nice to have the Lion back,” said Marco Bezzecchi, who delivered Aprilia’s best-ever MotoGP season with third in last year’s world championship.
“It’s a historical design. Of course, the bike looks very aggressive and [the Lion] is the character of the whole team and factory, because all the people that are working with us are super strong and super motivated.
“The bike looks very, very beautiful. Hopefully, we can bring it to the right place.”
Jorge Martin will "fight until the end"
Team-mate Jorge Martin - aiming to rebound from an injury-hit 2025 season and an unsuccessful attempt to annul the second year of his Aprilia contract - also embraced the symbolism.
“The Lion is the most representative animal for us at the moment,” Martin said.
“I think we are a great team. I was contracted to try to win, so that’s what I will try to do - fight until the end to try to win this championship, either me or Marco. I think we can do it.”
Beyond the livery, Aprilia confirmed that the 2026 RS-GP features refinements to aerodynamics, chassis architecture, electronics and engine areas not covered by the development freeze.
“The bike is quite different from last year,” Bezzecchi added. “I saw her yesterday for the first time and it looks super aggressive. A black bike is always very nice and I’m very proud to be an Aprilia rider.”
“We could see already in Valencia that the bike was working really good,” said Martin. “Now it’s really important to confirm that in testing in Malaysia and Thailand.
“But for sure the bike looks impressive in black - and with the Lion, even better.”
The new Aprilia livery will first appear on track with test rider Lorenzo Savadori during the Sepang Shakedown at the end of this month, before Bezzecchi and Martin take over for the official pre-season test.
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