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MotoGP: Jorge Martin and Aprilia contract row a 'grey area' as Alex Marquez breaks Silverstone record in Grand Prix Great Britain practice
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Published 23/05/2025 at 23:15 GMT+1
TNT Sports experts Sylvain Guintoli and Michael Laverty had sympathy for both Jorge Martin and his team, Aprilia, amid speculation that the current world champion wanted to leave the team he only joined at the start of the season. On the track at Silvertsone, Alex Marquez set a two-wheel track record as he was the fastest in Friday's practice, ahead of Saturday's qualifying and Sprint race.
'The relationship can deteriorate really quickly' - Guintoli discusses 'tough' Aprilia-Martin row
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Alex Marquez was fastest on Friday in practice at Silverstone, but Jorge Martin may overshadow the action at Grand Prix Great Britain.
The Spaniard, brother of championship leader Marc Marquez, set the fastest time ever at Silverstone on two wheels with a time of 1:57.295 on his BK8 Gresini Ducati.
That guarantees him a spot in Q2 on Saturday as the riders look to qualify for the Sprint on Saturday evening, as well as Sunday’s full-length race, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Alex currently trails his brother by 22 points after Marc claimed second place in Le Mans a fortnight ago.
After the early exchanges in the season, it appears the two siblings will battle it out for the 2025 world championship, as Marc’s Ducati Lenovo team-mate Francesco Bagnaia struggles to find his rhythm on the current bike setup.
Last year, it was Martin who pipped the Italian to the title, though injuries in testing and then in Qatar have almost certainly wiped out his chances of retaining the crown, which has led to a huge off-track talking point this weekend.
It has been reported that Martin has informed his Aprilia team that he wishes to invoke a clause in his contract, which is said to allow him to bring his two-year deal to a close this summer.
This clause can supposedly be activated in the event that Martin does not mount a credible challenge for the title, something which his injuries have so far prevented. For their part, Aprilia has insisted that they will be retaining his services.
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Honda have been linked with a move for the reigning champion, but will not make a move for him until his free agent status is confirmed, which does not appear to be imminent.
Discussing the matter on TNT Sports, Michael Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli gave their views on what is obviously a tricky situation.
Laverty was initially non-committal, but was surprised that such a clause might exist in the agreement between the team and its star rider.
He said: "It's interesting they had this in the contract, because it's not a standard point in most rider contracts.
"Jorge rolled the dice somewhat, to go away from Ducati to Aprilia, a strong manufacturer but not one that has won a world title in MotoGP, so it was a slight risk.
"Right now he's using a slightly grey area, in that he's been injured and not ridden the bike, so he's not performed, he's not in the lead contenders. So, in essence, that clause could be activated.
"If it's in that contract that he can move on, and he is released, then contractually Honda can make an offer, and he can accept it. There's a lot of rumour, but there's no smoke without fire.
"From the riders’ perspective, legally in the contract there’s a window and he had to be in touch with his current rivals as the current world champion, the people he was able to battle with on the Ducati.
"If he wasn’t on par with them after Le Mans, then he could look at other options. There was a potential conversation had, it’s obviously rumour and speculation.
"I do believe there would have been, whether it's management or whatever and Aprillia have been informed of this.
"They’ve had to go the hard lane - contractually you’re not, other manufacturers are not allowed to poach our rider, so they’re trying to warn them off a little bit."
Guintoli had some sympathy for Aprilia and worried that the relationship between the two parties could significantly suffer, though he understood that Martin’s injury problems would be taking their toll on the rider.
He explained: "I think this one has not made Aprilia too happy. That's the first thing.
"The problem is when something like this starts, the relationship gets damaged very quickly. When there are controversial statements that are made in the press already, and people are aware of it, the relationship can deteriorate really, really quickly.
"It's a difficult situation because at the moment, Jorge Martin will be mentally in a very hard moment.
"He's had the injury sustained in testing, he's only done a few laps with the bike. He came back in Qatar and got hurt even worse, with rib fractures and a lung collapsing. He's out for a long time. I think it's going to be a tough one."
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Laverty added that given the short careers for many riders, there needed to be a ruthless streak in some of their decision-making.
That, he felt, meant that many in the sport would not rush to judge him were he to depart at the end of the season.
"It’s a short career," Laverty said. "There’s honour amongst thieves. Obviously, you want to be honourable, you want to respect your word.
"But you've won a world championship, you've been through the wars physically, mentally. It's not Aprilia's fault by any means.
"But we see the progression of Honda, we see those new rules in effect from 2027, and he thinks, 'I want a piece of that.'
"It's up to Jorge to decide if it would detract from his legacy as world champion. I don't think it would."
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Marquez fastest as Yamaha show signs of comeback
While Alex Marquez was the quickest at Silverstone, perhaps the most notable development on the track was the sign that Yamaha may be clawing their way back to a competitive level of performance.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) continued his excellent recent track record as he was second fastest, while Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) was third.
Quartararo’s team-mate Alex Rins was ninth fastest, giving the manufacturer three of the top 10 quickest so far.
Marc Marquez was fourth fastest, 0.36 seconds off the lead, despite suffering a minor crash in the afternoon session.
Watch the MotoGP Grand Prix Great Britain live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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