Marco Bezzecchi will remain at Aprilia until at least the end of the 2028 MotoGP season after signing a new multi-year deal with the Noale-based marque.
While Motorsport.com reported last week that 2024 champion Jorge Martin is finalising a contract to join Yamaha next year, his current team-mate Bezzecchi has extended his commitment to Aprilia into the new rule cycle.
The deal was confirmed on Monday on the eve of MotoGP’s first full-fledged pre-season of the year at the Sepang International Circuit.
The announcement was accompanied by a video of Aprilia staging a wedding between Bezzecchi and the RS-GP in the Sepang paddock – a nod to the Italian proposing to his bike after Valencia last year.
“I’m extremely happy to have renewed for another two years,” he said. “From the first day I signed, I had the goal in mind of building a long-term project. I’m happy to have found the support of the entire team and the whole Noale factory. I hope I’ll be able to give them a lot of joy, as they most certainly will with me.”
Bezzecchi has become an integral part of Aprilia’s MotoGP programme after joining the team in 2025 following a three-year stint at VR46 Ducati.
With Martin absent from most of last season due to injuries, the Italian emerged as the de facto team leader, scoring three grands prix victories over the course of the season – including in the final double-header in Portugal and Valencia – to become the most successful rider in the team’s history.
His results also propelled Aprilia to second in the manufacturers’ standings, its best championship result in MotoGP.
“We are obviously extremely satisfied, because the renewal was our priority. We wanted to celebrate the signing in a particularly fun way, which I believe goes perfectly well with Marco’s personality,” said Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola.
“We have built a path creating solid foundations, and the fact that Marco chose to stay with us, in spite of various other offers he received, gives us great pleasure and further highlights the work and spirit of this team.”
Aprilia’s announcement made no mention of Martin, who will miss this week’s Sepang test after undergoing two more surgeries over the winter to fully recover from the injuries he sustained during a bruising 2025 campaign.
The marque’s test rider Lorenzo Savadori will once again stand in for the Spaniard, as he had done for much of the 2025 season. Savadori already got to sample the 2026 Aprilia RS-GP during last week’s Shakedown Test, which was limited to rookies, test riders and full-time riders of concession manufacturers.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team