MotoGP | Rivola: “Aprilia chosen out of anger? I saw Martin very happy”

On a day of testing characterized by rain, Aprilia took care of livening things up without the action on the track. On Monday at Mugello, the Noale manufacturer announced the arrival of Jorge Martin in the official team starting from 2025. Motorsport.com had anticipated in the early afternoon the Spaniard’s next farewell to Ducati, resulting in the door being opened “in red” for Marc Marquez. It wasn’t long before confirmation of what was said arrived.

Thus, Martin will leave Borgo Panigale at the end of this season to join the Aprilia project, taking up the legacy of his close friend Aleix Espargaro, who will instead retire. Will he be the new Captain? Only time will tell, but from Noale you can sense the enthusiasm for the great market coup, which occurred as quickly as possible. This was told by Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola, who met the media, including Motorsport.com, at Mugello on the occasion of the tests.

When did the contacts start? Did Jorge have any specific requests?
“As I always said when someone asked me, since Aleix decided to retire we started talking to everyone. The strategy was quite clear, because we didn’t want to make the first move and give someone a possible gift. But when we saw that there was an opportunity, and that came last night, we were pretty quick to take action rather than talk. We found an agreement very quickly. I also have to thank Aleix for this and here we are. We had given ourselves a deadline, which was supposed to be at Mugello and he wanted to bring it forward because he did his home Grand Prix. Now I feel like we’re lucky, because with everything that happened we should have stayed here on Tuesday too. After being a truffle hound, we drew conclusions: I honestly didn’t believe that this possibility really existed, but seeing Jorge so motivated obviously makes me happy.”

How much did Aleix influence this decision?
“I’m thinking of offering Aleix a job as a personal assistant for me, because he presented the Aprilia as he leaves it, considering that’s how he is, for better or for worse. But I think timing was a big factor, because we were really fast. Last night I called my boss and told him we had a chance. He gave me the green light and I did everything. So the guys in the legal department worked all night. I don’t know if this choice is based on emotions, but I like to think that Jorge’s choice was this because Aprilia has done solid work over the years. We were the only ones to have won races this year, in addition to the most competitive bike. So it’s another piece of the puzzle that we put together.”

Why did this call from Jorge come just last night?
“I think yesterday’s race was very emotional for Jorge. He had also crashed the day before and I think he understood that perhaps his future was no longer in Ducati and he wanted to find the best possible solution.”

Last night Martin’s manager was still talking to Ducati, then he signed with you: aren’t you afraid that his decision may have been made in anger?
“You should ask him this. I can only say that I’m happy that he took it. If he was angry, maybe he’ll be another tenth less on the track next year. I really saw him very happy. Maybe in his head had to decide and he made a decision. I saw Aleix excited, but then happy, because when you don’t know what to do and you make a decision, I love to think that it was the same thing for Jorge.”

Were you surprised to get the green light?
“Actually I was the one who called, so I wasn’t surprised. My boss is quite hungry for victories, so we needed to find an equally hungry and motivated driver. So I’m not surprised because we have seen every year that we are growing in terms of resources and the bike is a result of this. It is good news”.

How long does the contract last?
“This is a standard contract (two years, ed), but by writing multi-yearly we created more effect”.

Why did you announce it today?
“Well, I think by announcing it now, by being the first to make the announcement, we show that we can do good things quickly and we can make decisions quickly. So it was just a matter of sorting out the matter, wrapping up and concentrating on the next objective.”

Will there be Maverick or will another rider arrive?
“That’s a great question. From my point of view, Maverick is a staple. So we’ll see. To be honest, I clearly made a mistake, I don’t even know if we did any laps or not in the tests, I didn’t follow because I was busy with the team preparing everything. It seems that Jorge didn’t ride much because he was with me to sign the contract, so he didn’t try. My mistake was not telling Maverick that this thing was going to happen, but the priority was to close it. I do not know. For me, Maverick was one of those who helped the team take an important step forward. I believe he has a level now that can be a reference for the other Aprilia riders, so for us Maverick and Jorge would be the best possible couple.”

What time was Jorge’s call last night?
“I should check, there are many phones here (during the media scrum, ed.), I should take mine and see. Let’s say it happened last night and I called my boss immediately afterwards. Obviously, after Barcelona we started thinking and talking to some riders, not just Jorge, to see and understand what the sensations were on the market.”

Did you also look for Marc, or at least you tried, and then Enea?
“I asked Marc what the situation was. I also spoke to Enea’s manager. I have checked the market situation and I think I have found the best possible solution. But time will tell whether it will be the best or not.”

Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Would the Martin and Enea couple be an option?
“I think the priority is to understand what Maverick wants to do with us and if he wants to stay I will be the first to say yes. Thus there would be no room for Aeneas. But Bastianini is certainly one of the riders I’ve been trying to bring here for a long time. Let’s see, it’s hard to predict these things now. I think anyone in my place would have done the same thing.”

It is interesting that the current top Ducati technician (Gigi Dall’Igna) had left Aprilia to join Borgo Panigale, while now Aprilia takes the Ducati rider to lead the championship.
“I remember when we had problems finding a driver in 2020. Now we have a long list of managers knocking on our door. It is certainly a satisfaction for the company, which worked in the right way. If we have this opportunity, it means we have done a good job. But we don’t have the driver to win now, because even Maverick can win races. Aleix won. It won’t be enough for us. We have to think as a company first and foremost. The riders are part of the project, obviously, they are the ones everyone sees on the track. They are part of a big puzzle.”

In the last week, you said that it was important to have an Italian rider on an Italian bike. Is it still a factor in your decision for next year?
“I would say that if Maverick is not with us, I will have to consider this option. I see many very strong Italian riders. So maybe we will have time to do it, but it’s not a priority.”

Maybe you will have the number 1 on the fairing next year?
“We will only discover this by living, as Battisti said.”

Among the reasons you used to convince him was that of coming to try to be Aprilia’s first world champion in MotoGP?
“But no, because Maverick can be too. Honestly, at the beginning of the year, seeing the performance of the bike, I thought we could compete. Then the championship is long. You can say that Ducati will take off even further, but I like to think that we will close the gap. We work day and night for that. No one leaves defeated, the championship is long.”

Maverick Vinales, Team Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

But you will have that top rider that Aprilia was chasing…
“I also consider Vinales a top rider. If we had a pair with the two of them, it would be the strongest in the championship, but you can’t always have everything. We’ll take one step at a time, today we had the opportunity to close an important piece and we closed it on the fly. The thing that pleased me is the speed with which we were able to react, because it is the fastest contract in history.”

Was it easy because the offer was very advantageous for Jorge or because he wanted a new challenge?
“Certainly, of the various offers he had, ours was not the highest, despite being a super respectable offer. But the fact that he chose us is a source of pride, partly for the quality of the bike, partly ‘ for that of the team, which Aleix will surely have told him about. Or for the perception of us from the outside, which all in all I think is a team in which we feel good, and in the end this too could have been a problem. factor”.

So Martin was your first choice?
“If I have to tell the truth, yes. I honestly didn’t think it could be on the market initially. Then when I became a truffle dog and saw that there was also a possibility, I also put a little bone in there to see if he was interested.”

Speaking of Aleix, had you tried to convince him to stay, perhaps even as a test driver?
“I made a joke to him after he won the Sprint in Barcelona, ​​but I think that’s right. I wish him to find a wonderful contract with an interesting challenge. I can imagine, thinking out loud, that those who need to grow the most perhaps It’s the Japanese teams. It will be an even more interesting challenge for him and maybe they can even pay him very well, so I’m happy for him.”

Wasn’t there a possibility for you to have two test drivers?
“The test team is increasingly important, but the order of priorities was to find Aleix’s replacement. I don’t even know if he has already made an agreement, but I respect his wishes.”