Bezzecchi’s arrival in Aprilia is official, Rivola tells the behind-the-scenes story in an exceptional way: from the choice of the team to the rider’s future.
The news of Marco Bezzecchi’s arrival in the Aprilia team has amazed the world of MotoGP, and Massimo Rivola he was keen to clarify the details. The Team Manager of the Noale team spoke with a few selected media, including Rossomotori.it: the Italian driver is a unique talent, the choice to have him alongside Jorge Martin for 2025 is the right one.
Rivola: Bezzecchi’s arrival in Aprilia in 2025
During the exceptional interview session, to which Rossomotori.it was presentMassimo Rivola said Why Aprilia has chosen Marco Bezzecchi as its rider for 2025. A simple and natural decision: the pilot’s talent is unquestionablewe just had to wait for the right moment.
“Bez was the first one I offered the seat to four years ago and he was one of the ones who turned it down. But in reality he refused with full knowledge of the facts, in the sense that he already had seats in Moto 2 with VR, which in any case was a very strong team and therefore aimed to win the championship. He knew that if he did well he could probably have a clear path in MotoGP with Valentino’s team. I was sorry, but I wasn’t upset. In fact, it was useful to him because, it’s true that this year he’s in a bit more difficultybut what he showed last year, in his second year, is a sign of enormous talent. Its feature that impressed me the most is his driving in the wet. There are unmistakable signs of his talent, he is special. This year he is not performing exceptionally if we compare him to Marquez, but I believe that external factors also count. You just need to find the secret to making the planets align“.
The team manager he never expected to have a totally new lineup for 2025, but he is satisfied. Regarding the timing, Rivola talks about how the team and Bezzecchi got closer at the start of the championship and how everything then evolved: “The truth is that his manager approached us already at the beginning of the season and we practically waited first for Aleix’s decision, then Mugello, where he was everything very fast, and after that we focused on the priorities, which were obviously the drivers. So I have to say that it was all very natural, in the sense that Marco wanted to come to us to ride our motorbike and this is clearly a great pleasure“.
Rivola’s words on Bezzecchi’s new beginning
Next season will be an unknown for Apriliawhich however already has its priorities clear: the riders will form a strong team and they are the starting point in 2025. It is not yet decided, however, whether Bezzecchi will bring any of his team with himas Rivola stated.
“We haven’t talked about it yet. We focused first on the drivers market. The market for technicians will begin very soon and we must obviously respect our team first and obviously also that of the riders from which they come. Why we will try to break as few balances as possible, unless a rider really feels he needs it“.
Regarding the priorities of the new Italian rider, the team will have to find the right way to match Bezzecchi’s riding style with the characteristics of the Aprilia bike: “On paper we see Bezzechi well on the bike. He is someone who has always been very strong on fast tracks. Ours is a bike that goes well. The times I saw Marco fall were due to some characteristics, Silverstone comes to mind with the front, because it came a little long, braked, inclined and our bike is quite good from that point of view. So we will have to get to know each other, first understand how to put him on the saddlebecause in any case the rider’s ergonomics are fundamental and he has been riding the same type of motorcycle for years now. So it will take a minimum of adaptation, but we will give it as little as possible, because we need to bring results home quickly“.
Rivola’s opinion on the future
The decision to have a completely new pairing was not made lightly, but the team manager is confident. The separation with Maverick Vinales was difficult, but it allowed the arrival of a young talent like Bezzechi, so says Rivola.
“I’m sorry to lose a talent like Maverick. We respect his decision and I think we had a good time together. Now I think that we’ll see a fighting Maverick for the rest of the season and I hope that our story ends in the best way. I honestly also hoped to be able to continue with Maverick. The victory in Austin was for me, not only for the team, but personally also the achievement of a goal we had set ourselves. So it was a huge satisfaction and repeating Austin is kind of what we would like to do“.
AND on the Bezzecchi-Martin pairingRivola is excited to see how it will go: “They both come from two top teams and we have to continue to grow and develop our bike. It’s not great having two new riders in the team, but I think that choosing these two drivers is the best we could do. If I look at Ducati’s choice I believe that we made the best decision possible, we couldn’t ask for better drivers“.
FOLLOW US ON:
