Aprilia roars: the RS-GP is back to being scary, and now even... Martin has noticed.

The Brno race could represent a definitive rebirth for the two Aprilia riders, each for different reasons. In the Czech Republic, Bezzecchi confirmed the improvements seen since Assen with a second-place finish behind the unrivaled Marc Márquez. The result came after a battle with the Spaniard and Bagnaia. On the other side of the garage was Martin, back on track after his injury last April and a dispute with the team over his future. The reigning world champion enjoyed an excellent weekend, culminating in a seventh-place finish from 12th on the starting grid. Upon the two riders' return to the garage, Paolo Bonora, Aprilia race manager, sent a message via team radio: "What a job guys! Great job Marco and incredible Jorge. You gave us a special day."

It was February 5th when Martin crashed during winter testing in Malaysia, suffering fractures to his right hand and left foot after a highside. The ordeal didn't end there: from February to April came further crashes, one in training and the other upon his return to Qatar, which resulted in much more serious injuries. The April report included a pneumothorax and multiple rib fractures. During this difficult period for the reigning world champion, doubts began to emerge about his future with Aprilia, further accentuated by the Noale-based team's less than stellar start to the season. The Spaniard had spoken of a sensational divorce at the end of 2025, but the team made it clear they would pursue legal action if the dispute dragged on. Everything ultimately resolved itself for the best, with Martin's gradual return accompanied by growing confidence in himself and the project.

At Brno, he finally took to the track and completed a strong weekend, also scoring his first points of the season. Martin still has a long way to go, but in the Czech Republic he took a significant first step forward, as he explained to Sky Sport: "My life has returned. Today I'm definitely happy because, after everything that's happened, I rode a very consistent race, where I expected a physical decline, which didn't happen. That's what makes me happiest. The work I've done with Aprilia has also been fantastic." In the first races after his injury, he doesn't want to risk another crash like he did in Qatar: "I'm always afraid of being careful, of not crashing, but ultimately, at home they taught me that I have to face problems and fears, and that means going on the attack. And I got off to a good start. The others certainly got off to a better start than yesterday, but I found my place in the first two laps. After that, I tried to overtake and follow Quartararo for a bit, but I lacked speed." He now knows he has a bike that can fight for top positions: "He made an incredible change, it's a bike that gives me a lot of confidence up front and turns a lot. I definitely need to work on lateral load. I go so far off the bike that, when it unloads so much at the rear, I have to think about tire management, which has to be very consistent. Aprilia did a great job together with Marco and Savadori."

On the other side of the garage, Bezzecchi celebrated his third podium of the season in Brno, confirming the progress made by Aprilia. The Noale-based team, without Martin for the entire first half of the season, struggled at the start of 2025, with the Italian rider often at the back of the pack, lacking a good feeling with the bike. The work done by the team and test rider Savadori, on track to replace Martin, has paid off: now Bezzecchi is consistently at the front, fighting for the win, which so far has only come at Silverstone. In the last three long races, he's only missed the podium once, in Germany when he crashed: "We're doing a really good job: that's for sure. The guys have really made some great improvements since the start of the season, and you can see it in the results," he explained to Sky Sport. "Obviously, I've also worked hard to improve my riding, to be more precise in my commentary, and in everything else. I'm having fun, and so are the guys, so I thank them." Now the rider from Rimini can smile: "The first lap was incredible, with the overtaking of Quartararo from the outside. It wasn't planned, and it was the key to the race because then I managed to get ahead. I had fun in the first half of the race. When Marc passed me, I saw he had more, and I thought about attacking him because I had a bit of a gap with the tire, but he was too strong."