RIVOLA HAILS MARTIN’S QATAR RIDE AS APRILIA TARGETS REMAINING TITLES

Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola hailed Jorge Martin’s Qatar Grand Prix weekend as remarkable, despite the Spaniard riding with a broken wrist suffered just two weeks earlier. Martin finished third in Saturday’s Sprint and seventh in Sunday’s race, results Rivola said were exceptional given both his injury and the emotional weight of returning to Lusail. A year earlier, Martin had been close to ending his career at the circuit.

“What he did today was really remarkable; what he did in the Sprint was a sort of miracle,” Rivola told MotoGP.com. He added that he could not fully imagine what Martin was experiencing, but said coming back to Qatar in that physical condition made the performance especially significant. “Chapeau to him,” he said.

The weekend’s points haul nevertheless left Martin’s title hopes in a difficult position. Marc Marquez won the Sprint and took second in the grand prix, gaining 16 points on Martin. The Aprilia rider now trails Marquez by 60 points with two rounds remaining, and his wrist is expected to continue limiting him to some extent.

Rivola said Aprilia’s approach was to pursue victories and assess the standings afterwards. “At the end, you just have to win everything and then see what’s going on,” he said, acknowledging that the strategy had also brought points losses and mistakes. The team remains focused on the remaining races and its other championship targets: Rivola hopes Aprilia can secure the teams’ title soon and wants to fight for the manufacturers’ crown, which he said matters greatly to the squad and is something it deserves.

Aprilia did have cause to celebrate in Qatar, where Marco Bezzecchi led the grand prix from start to finish for victory. Rivola said Bezzecchi deserved the win and believed he had also earned a Sprint victory, though he noted the Italian had not been at his best on Saturdays so far this season. He hopes Bezzecchi can deliver in the final two Sprints as well.

Rivola praised Bezzecchi’s consistency across the weekend, saying he had been quick from the opening practice session, maintained his pace and stayed focused on building a gap. “I think he just did it perfectly,” he said.