Martin didn’t make Aprilia MotoGP decision “out of anger”, says Rivola

On Monday evening, it was announced that Martin will leave the Ducati fold after four seasons and move to Aprilia in 2025, replacing the retiring Aleix Espargaro on a multi-year deal.

It followed a series of events over the past week at Mugello, as the Spaniard went from being selected for the factory Ducati seat to having that ride snatched away from him.

On Saturday afternoon, a member of Ducati asked Martin for time to find a way to keep both him and Gresini’s Marc Marquez in its roster for 2025.

But Martin refused to give Ducati any more time, prompting the Borgo Panigale marque to inform his manager that it was withdrawing the offer for him to join the factory team.

Martin and his agent met immediately afterwards and decided to accept one of the three offers on the table, electing to move to Aprilia on a two-year contract.

The deal between the two parties was signed on Monday, with Aprilia subsequently announcing the agreement in a short video where Espargaro welcomed his replacement Martin to the team.

Later in the afternoon, Rivola spoke to the media to express his “enormous satisfaction” at having closed the deal with a “top rider” in MotoGP.

While it could be interpreted that Martin made a hasty decision to join Aprilia following disagreement with Ducati, whose actions were dictated by the fear of losing six-time champion Marquez, Rivola insists the Spaniard’s decision was well-thought.

“This is a question we should ask Jorge,” he said. “I can only say that I’m very glad he took it, and if he’s angry he might be a tenth faster still next year.

‘This is a question we should ask Jorge. I can only say that I am very happy that he has taken it, and if he is angry it is possible that he will be a tenth faster next year,” he said.

I don’t know, but I can honestly say that I have seen Jorge happy, very happy. Maybe in his head it wasn’t clear that he had to make a decision, but he made it.

“I saw Jorge happy, and I saw Aleix excited and happy to welcome him. I think it was a moment in which Jorge made an important decision and took a weight off his shoulders. I want to think that Jorge has made a decision and that he will be happy that he has made it.”

For former Ferrari Formula 1 engineer Rivola, signing the current championship leader was an opportunity that it couldn’t afford to lose.

“The truth is that I didn’t…