Twelve months ago, Jorge Martin was trying to break his contract with Aprilia. Now, he's celebrating his first MotoGP win with the team—and the timing couldn't be more poetic.
This past weekend at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans, Martin finally delivered the victory that Aprilia had been waiting for. It was a moment of redemption, coming exactly one year after he and his manager stunned the Noale factory by announcing their intention to exit the contract at the end of 2025—likely to join Honda.
To understand the full weight of this win, you have to look back at how this partnership began. Aprilia went all out to sign Martin in the summer of 2024, when he was still battling for the world title on a Pramac Ducati. When he went on to win the championship against Francesco Bagnaia's factory Ducati, expectations skyrocketed. This was supposed to be a dream pairing.
Instead, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Martin suffered two pre-season injuries—first at the Sepang test, then during training for the opening round. A third injury in Qatar followed. And while still working toward full fitness, Martin tried to trigger a performance-related exit clause in his contract to leave after just one season.
The move didn't sit well with Aprilia—or the wider paddock. Critics pointed out that Martin hadn't even finished a race by that point, while his teammate Marco Bezzecchi—who also made the jump from Ducati's satellite team—was already proving the 2025-spec RS-GP was a capable machine.
The contract saga dragged on for months before both sides agreed to honor the remainder of the deal. But tensions simmered through the season as Martin struggled to find his form while Bezzecchi began winning races. A fourth major crash at Motegi didn't help matters.
Now, with 2026 on the horizon and Bezzecchi poised to become Ducati's new number one, Martin's French GP win feels like a statement. It's proof that the champion is still here, still fighting, and finally delivering on the promise that brought him to Aprilia in the first place.