Today Aprilia announced a radical change to its line-up for the season MotoGP 2025, marking a new era with the hiring of the promising driver from Rimini Marco Bezzecchi. In the afternoon Massimo Rivola explained the reasons behind these bold choices and commented on the exit of Maverick Viñales, who will join the KTM Tech 3 at the end of the year.
Radical change in Aprilia for 2025
In the extraordinary conference in the afternoon, Rivola took the time to explain and clarify all the doubts following the early afternoon announcement of the hiring of Marco Bezzecchi starting from 2025. For the next season, therefore, the Aprilia Racing line-up will be formed by Jorge Martín Almoguera And Marco Bezzecchi.
Rivola has never hidden the fact that he wants an Italian driver in the Noale factory and this dream seems to have come true: “I’m very happy. It’s a really strong pair of young talents. Last year they finished second and third in the World Championship, the hope is that they will do even better next year with us.” The CEO also highlighted how the Radical change may have its advantages and disadvantages: “It is true that when you change both drivers it is never a wise choice, in the sense that we know that continuity pays off, but in front of two talents of this type I think it is worth taking this small risk and that it should be accepted with great enthusiasm.”
The background to Bezzecchi’s hiring
When asked why Marco was chosen, the “boss” of Aprilia revealed some anecdotes and background stories. Apparently this was not the first contact with the rider from Rimini. “I’ll tell you an anecdote: the Bez was the first one I offered the saddle to four years ago, when we found ourselves in the ****. He was one of those who refused, but he did it for a reason: he already had a seat in Moto2 with the VR46, which was a very strong team, so he was aiming to win the World Championship and he knew that if he did well his path would be clear. in MotoGP with Valentino’s team” declared Rivola.
After a first contact and engagement attempt four years ago, today’s surprise arrived: Marco Bezzecchi he will officially be a pilot Aprilia for 2025. A strategic market move and a driver chosen for his skills and talent on the track, demonstrated above all in the past season, where he finished third in the championship. Rivola explains perfectly why he chose to take Bezzecchi on his team.
It’s true that this year he’s in a bit more difficulty, but what he showed last year, in his second year, it’s a sign of enormous talent. He impressed me in Argentina in the wet and even more so in India, which was the only track that nobody knew. Then he is certainly a character a bit like Vale, a bit like Simoncelli, who are great in MotoGP. But, having said that, we took him because he gives us great gas, not because he is a character. I have a lot of confidence in his speed and his talent. It seems to me that he has a fairly Latin character and we are used to this. Aleix, for example, is one of these. Jorge seems to be too. He will be a very motivating garage for Aprilia Racing, but I can’t wait.
Maverick’s farewell and Aleix’s retirement
With a completely renewed line-up, an interesting 2025 season is expected for Aprilia. With the announcement of retirement of Aleix and the hiring of Jorge, Rivola does not deny that he was caught off guard by the Vinales’ decision not to continue with the Noale house. Certainly, at the beginning of the year he would never have thought of not continuing with both current riders, but with the various market movements he is satisfied with the choices made.
I could have expected Aleix’s retirement, but I thought and hoped I could continue with Maverick. The victory in Austin was the achievement of a goal that we had set ourselves as a team, but also personally, to win with him. It was a huge satisfaction and now repeating Austin is what we would like to do. At the beginning of the year I wouldn’t have thought of changing the two drivers, but today, given how quickly the market has moved, I think Aprilia has done a great job. So I can only be very happy.
Despite this, Rivola declared that he absolutely respects Maverick’s choice, as each rider decides what is best for their future.
Rivola’s expectations for 2025
Talking about the Bezzecchi’s driving style and its compatibility with Aprilia, Rivola was optimistic. “On paper I can see it well. Marco is someone who has always been very strong on fast tracks. Ours is a bike that goes well from that point of view” said Rivola. He recalled some falls of “Bez”, like the one at Silverstone, attributing them to front closures during braking, an aspect that the Aprilia bike could help manage better.
The CEO of Aprilia has underlined the importance of ergonomics and the adaptation of the rider to the motorcycle, recognizing that Bezzecchi will have to get used to a new setup after years of riding a different bike. However, he expressed confidence in a quick adaptation: “We will have to get to know each other, understand first how to put him on the saddle, because the rider’s ergonomics are fundamental and he has been riding the same type of motorcycle for years now. It will take a little adaptation, but I hope as little as possible, because we need to bring home the results quickly.”
Claudia Barchiesi
Read also: MotoGP | Official: Marco Bezzecchi will join Martín in Aprilia
