From rejection to redemption: Martin’s Aprilia turnaround comes full circle

One year after notifying Aprilia of his intention to end his contract early, Jorge Martin takes his first double win for the Noale factory at Le Mans

After all the setbacks, the injuries and the uncertainty over whether he would ever return to winning form, Jorge Martin delivered a statement ride at Le Mans on Sunday. The Aprilia Racing star took his first win since the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix, chasing down teammate Marco Bezzecchi before passing him in the closing laps to seal a memorable French Grand Prix triumph.

It was a landmark day for Aprilia. Bezzecchi completed the one-two for the factory squad, while Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider Ai Ogura charged through late to finish third and claim his first MotoGP podium. The result also marked the first Japanese premier class podium finisher since 2012 and completed an all-Aprilia top three.

Under gloomy skies with the threat of rain hovering, Bezzecchi made the best start from the front row and grabbed the early lead. Home favourite Fabio Quartararo launched brilliantly to move into second, while Pedro Acosta slotted into third after rubbing fairings with the Yamaha rider on the opening lap. Pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia did not get away cleanly and slipped to fourth, with Fabio Di Giannantonio fifth. Martin started seventh and made little early progress.

On lap two, Alex Marquez crashed out of the top 10, continuing a difficult weekend. Soon after, Acosta pushed past Quartararo at Turn 11 to move into second and begin his pursuit of Bezzecchi. Bagnaia was clearly finding speed, setting the fastest lap and then making his way forward. On lap five he demoted Quartararo, and two laps later he passed Acosta to climb to second, closing to within nine tenths of Bezzecchi.

Behind them, Martin was beginning to build. He got into a lively scrap with Di Giannantonio and after several attempts finally made the move stick at Turn 7 on lap nine. The battle cost time, leaving him more than 1.5 seconds behind the leading trio, but his pace remained strong and he gradually pulled clear of the group behind.

Approaching halfway, Bezzecchi still led Bagnaia by around six tenths, with Acosta hanging on in third. Martin, though, was matching the leaders and inching closer. Then came the major twist. On lap 16 of 27, Bagnaia crashed at Turn 3 after looking set for a strong result. He was unhurt, but his race was over.

That promoted Martin to third and put him directly into the fight for victory. Two laps later he moved past Acosta and set off after Bezzecchi, who still held an advantage of about 1.5 seconds. The gap began to fall quickly. Martin was taking chunks out of the lead, and at the same time Ogura was launching his own charge through the field.

Ogura had already worked his way past Di Giannantonio and continued to close on Acosta. Joan Mir, who had been making progress as well, crashed out at Turn 11 after moving into sixth. Up front, Martin kept reeling in Bezzecchi, while Ogura’s speed brought the podium into view. On lap 23, the Japanese rookie made his move on Acosta at Turn 3 to take third and turn the race into an Aprilia one-two-three.

That left the focus on the battle for the win. With four laps remaining, Martin was on Bezzecchi’s rear wheel. Then, with three laps to go, he struck. Braking late into Turn 3, Martin made a clean, decisive pass to grab the lead for the first time. Bezzecchi had no answer. Martin immediately stretched the gap and controlled the final lap without error to complete a remarkable return to the top step.

Bezzecchi managed to resist Ogura’s late pressure to finish second, although his championship lead was cut to just one point by his teammate. Ogura crossed the line in third to celebrate the first MotoGP podium of his career and cap an outstanding afternoon for Aprilia.

Just behind the podium, Di Giannantonio snatched fourth from Acosta with a pass at the penultimate corner on the final lap, leaving the KTM rider fifth. Quartararo completed a strong home weekend in sixth. Enea Bastianini took seventh, followed by Raul Fernandez, Fermin Aldeguer and Luca Marini in the top 10.

Johann Zarco’s home race never truly recovered after Raul Fernandez forced him wide on the opening lap, dropping last year’s winner down the order. Zarco eventually finished 11th. Alex Rins, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Franco Morbidelli and Jack Miller rounded out the points scorers.

Jack Miller came away from Le Mans with something to show for a difficult weekend, taking 15th and helping Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP secure its first double points finish of the season with teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu. Miller admitted he had hoped for more and said a soft front tyre gamble did not pay off, with the tyre fading badly in the closing laps, but his result still underlined the steady progress being made by the new Yamaha project.

Bezzecchi still leads the championship standings, but now by only by a single point over Martin, 128 to 127, with Di Giannantonio a distant third on 84. That swing would have seemed almost impossible to imagine at the start of the season, when Martin’s future and form were both in doubt. Now, after his Le Mans double, Martin looks back to his extreme-lean best and stands alongside Bezzecchi as equal favourite for the 2026 title.

Jorge Martin – P1
“I remember being here and telling Massimo [Rivola] that I wanted to leave. Because at that point, I thought it was the best option. But now I’m thankful to Massimo for retaining me. I’m thankful for my decision to finally stop the fight and stay in Aprilia. And I’m really happy that everything is on the right direction. I am truly happy. At the start, I didn’t think I’d be able to battle for the win, but I never let up. Aprilia is giving me what I need and my confidence is growing day by day. Now it is important to continue working in this direction to improve even more.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P2
“It was a good weekend overall, despite the difficulties. I’m pleased because I took a spot on the front row in qualifying and finished on the podium in the sprint race and in the long race. I tried to stay focused and to ride without making mistakes. I gave one hundred percent, but Jorge had a little more.”

Jack Miller – P15
“I was hoping for a little bit more today. We decided to go with the soft front tyre because we expected the temperature to be slightly cooler. Even on the sighting lap to the grid there was quite a strong wind and the radar suggested there could be more cloud cover coming, so we took a gamble with the soft front. I knew it was going to be difficult in the group, but historically I‘ve usually been able to manage the soft front quite well with my riding style. Unfortunately, with around fifteen laps to go I really started struggling a lot with it and in the end it wasn‘t the right choice for today. Still, it was one of those decisions that could also have worked if the conditions had changed a little differently. It‘s a pity because this weekend we were definitely closer to the others, but still not close enough. We need to keep working and continue building from here.”

2026 FRENCH MOTOGP

2026 MOTOGP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 5