Jorge Martin’s star shone brightly once again on Sunday at Le Mans. The Spaniard reclaimed the title of fastest rider more than 588 days after his last victory in Indonesia in 2024, the year he won the championship. It is his 9th victory in the premier class, his second at Le Mans, and his first with Aprilia Racing. For the first time, he won a GP without starting from the first two rows. It is his 35th podium in the premier class and third of the season. A long drought caused by the serious injury that had threatened to end his career. All of this came on a historic Sunday for Aprilia, as the Veneto manufacturer achieved its first-ever triple podium in the premier class thanks to the podium finishes by Bezzecchi and Ogura.
The #89, following his impressive performance in Saturday’s sprint, delivered a magnificent race (breaking the fairing of his Aprilia as is his tradition, just as he did with the Ducati-Pramac) in which the Spaniard climbed up the order from seventh place to snatch the victory from his teammate Bezzecchi, who was struggling with rear-end grip in the final stages of the race. Martin is now second in the standings, just one point behind Bezzecchi, in a season where the title is increasingly shaping up as an internal battle within the Aprilia camp.
Martin’s victory speaks above all to the tenacity of a rider who , in a very short time, went from the highest step to the darkest abyss, only to emerge different, reborn, and, as he himself admits, “better.” It is telling how the word “faith" often resonate in the Spaniard’s words— a sign of how life’s low blows can sometimes temper one’s character and forge it into an even sharper sword, now ready to battle for another championship.
"I’m happy to be part of this first all-Aprilia podium " Martin stated. "Today was tougher than yesterday in terms of confidence; I never thought I could fight for the win, but I never gave up. Step by step, I caught up to the other riders, and I think that with about eight laps to go, I started thinking about the win. I saw that Marco was having trouble with the rear, so I gave it everything I had; I had faith until the end, and it paid off. I’m very happy; the Aprilia helped me a lot in fighting for the win, and the bike is fantastic.”
When did you realize victory was within reach?
"With two laps to go, when I had a seven-tenths lead, I knew it was in the bag. I’d hoped to catch Marco, but passing him was another matter— he’s really competitive and brings out the best in me. Right now, I’m happy that Aprilia is continuing to grow, and it’s amazing how quickly we’re improving. Friday was one of the worst days of the season, and today there are three Aprilias on the podium. It’s great motivation for the upcoming races.”
Just a year ago, at a different point in your career, here at Le Mans you said you wanted to leave Aprilia. How much have you changed since then?
"I’m grateful for the negative things that happened to me; if you take them as something to learn from, they make you a better person. They made me the man I am today. Now I’m here at Aprilia , and I’ll defend these colors as long as I’m with them. I’m happy to have this relationship and to be so united with Aprilia right now."
Now you’re just one point behind the championship leader—did you expect you’d be back having this much fun?
"I never thought I’d be back in this situation; I always wanted it, but I didn’t think it would be possible. The important thing is to keep working to improve the feel. Today wasn’t the best, but I had faith that I could be fast. There’s an important test coming up, so we need to keep moving in this direction."
It seems impossible to get back to winning at this level after going through a difficult period.
"When you’re struggling and thinking about getting back on the bike, you don’t think about winning again—you just think about getting back on the bike. I regained confidence in myself thanks to the podium; it gave me the confidence to say it was possible, but going from there to winning races is another story. It’s something that develops; I believe we’re in the best possible moment professionally, personally and spiritually. I think this shows; in the end, it’s a combination of everything. I had to adapt to a new bike; I was able to understand that this isn’t a Ducati, it’s an Aprilia, and what I need to do to ride it. I came into the test with that mindset; I started braking, accelerating, and cornering differently— in part, I think, because of the injury; that’s what made me who I am today."
In the past, you received advice from Marc that helped you, and today he’s the one facing the clinic again.
"If we were in opposite situations, I’d be the first to give him medical advice; I believe the respect between riders is greater than any rivalry. I hope Marc returns as soon as possible; I know he’ll come back stronger because it’s clear he wasn’t well—he’s one of the biggest rivals to battle against in this world championship."
Does returning to this level give you the same sense of pride as when you won the title?
"I’m definitely happy to be back; I think I’m a better rider than I was in 2024. I believe that in this sport, you either improve or you get worse; you never stay the same. Your rivals improve, and you have to improve to catch up with them. Marco is the benchmark right now, and I’m trying to catch up to him. I’m feeling very comfortable with the Aprilia; yesterday we made some setup changes, which means we don’t have a precise baseline yet, and I hope to find it by the summer break."
You said you don’t have a defined baseline—where do you see room for improvement?
"We improved a lot in testing; the bike was very similar to that one, and we added a few changes. Maybe this is the base now—I’m not sure yet—we’ll see in Barcelona. Overall, the bike works well; I feel like I’m still missing a bit of stability under braking, but otherwise the bike is fantastic, and we’ll keep improving."
This historic podium for Aprilia raises expectations ahead of Barcelona.
"I think last year Montmelò was one of the most challenging races for Aprilia, so we’ll see. We need to keep working in this direction and bring home as many points as possible."
With Marc’s injury, do you see Bezzecchi as your main rival in the championship?
"First of all , I want to send Marc all my support; it’s never nice to see another rider injured—it was a bad crash. But we know Marc will come back even stronger, as always. As for Marco, having him close by is a great motivator; he brings out the best in me—he’s my benchmark. When I caught up to him in the race today, with another rider I might have needed just one lap to pass him, but with him it took three to figure out where to make the move. Right now, Marco is the strongest rider out there; maybe in the future we’ll battle it out, but the important thing is that there’s respect and that, at the end of the day, we bring points home for Aprilia. We have the same bike, after all, and our feedback is similar; we push each other to improve, and that makes us competitive—that’s the key, and I hope it continues like this throughout the season. It would mean we’re ahead of our rivals.”
You read a verse from the Bible every day—what did it say today?
"Today I think it was the Gospel according to Luke; it said that salvation and redemption would come today."