With a new bike and the 2024 MotoGP World Championship title on his back, Jorge Martin finds himself at a crossroads, curious and excited about this new turn in his career. This week, from Wednesday to Friday, the first IRTA winter test of 2025 at the Sepang circuit, near Kuala Lumpur airport, will mark the start of the real preparation for the season. Two more days of testing will follow in Buriram on February 12 and 13, before the World Championship gets underway at the same track in Thailand in early March.
The 2024 MotoGP world champion, George Martin, joined the team aprilia-racing for this new season. The Spanish rider, who made his debut on the RS-GP during the tests last November, is enthusiastic and determined to take on the challenges that await him.
The factory team Aprilia approaches the 2025 season with a seemingly winning combination: a completely redesigned bike and the most prominent rider of the 2024 season, George Martin. After his departure from the Pramac Ducati team, Martin is now an integral part of the project Aprilia, a change that is generating both excitement and questions. As pre-season testing gets into full swing in Sepang, in Malaysia, the reigning world champion is preparing to take on a major challenge: adapting to a new machine, a new team and new processes.
During his first laps with theAprilia RS-GP in November 2024 in Barcelona, Jorge Martin had only a brief glimpse of what awaited him. These tests, although limited, allowed him to get in touch with his new team and begin to understand the subtleties of the bike. But the real work begins now, with the official tests of Sepang, followed by two additional days at Buriram, in Thailand, in February. These sessions will be crucial for Martin, which must not only adapt to the RS-GP, but also contribute to its development.
« In recent years, I haven't really been motivated to start the season. because everything was the same ", told Martin during a press briefing. It’s different this time. Aprilia is a fantastic team and they did a great job over the winter. I can’t wait to get on the bike. I am very optimistic about the coming season. Now it's time to work and take on the challenges. »
Jorge Martin: “ I will only be able to say where I am and how I feel once I have been on the track myself. »
Martin closely followed the performance ofAprilia when Sepang Shakedown, where the rookie Ai Ogura surprised everyone by setting the fourth fastest time. A performance that reinforced the world champion's confidence in the potential of his new team. I am very involved in this project, Aprilia has improved in many areas “, he underlined. " I will only be able to say where I am and how I feel once I have been on the track myself. We have a lot of new equipment to try, but at the same time I have to adapt to the bike, which is not going to be easy. It will take me time to understand everything »
À 27 years, Martin approaches this new stage of his career with serenity and determination. I don't feel any pressure, even though we obviously want to achieve good results ", did he declare. " I will stick with my approach from last year. I didn't focus on winning, but about improving myself every day and being the best version of myself. I'm obsessed with it, but at the end of the day, things will happen when they happen »
Martin emphasizes the difference between pressure and responsibility. The pressure I was under last season will never be as great again at any point in my life.. I don't feel pressure, I feel responsibility. It's responsibility, not pressure. The pressure you feel when you're fighting for a championship, you have the pressure at its highest level – and what I've been through in the last few years, and last year, was crazy. So now I feel really relaxed, I really want to perform. »
Integrating into a new team is never easy, especially after four years with Pramac Ducati. However, Martin seems to already be finding its marks at Aprilia. " I think that we are certainly not yet a family like Pramac “, he admitted. “ It's quite difficult to arrive after four years together with the same team, the same organization. But I bring people from Pramac. I knew people from Aprilia thanks to Aleix Espargaró, so I feel like the band is getting really good »
George Martin also highlighted the special relationship he already has with the leaders ofAprilia. " It’s also a big family, with the bosses I feel like I have a relationship with them where before I didn't have one with any of them. I feel like I'm really involved in the project and that I can provide valuable help. I feel a lot of well-being when I enter the box. It's really, really good. »
With an upgraded bike and a world-class rider, Aprilia has all the assets to shine in 2025. However, Martin remains realistic: We have great potential, let's see in which area we can fight. » The path to the top will be gradual, but with a motivated team and a determined driver, Aprilia might just surprise everyone this season MotoGP.
In short, the partnership between George Martin et Aprilia represents an exciting new adventure for the world champion and a golden opportunity for the Italian manufacturer to rise among the best. The next tests and the first Grands Prix will tell us more about what this promising collaboration has in store. One thing is for sure: all eyes will be on Martin et Aprilia in 2025.
