Martin swapped Pramac Ducati for the factory Aprilia garage just two days after winning the MotoGP championship for the first time. His title defence will be on a new machine, a bike which lagged behind the Ducatis this year, albeit a project with room to grow. “The feeling was super positive,” Aprilia CEO Rivola said about Martin’s first test.

Marc Marquez (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) and Joan Mir (2020), Jorge Martin is only the fifth rider from Spain to win a premier class title. In addition, his success this year marked the first for a rider with a satellite team since Valentino Rossi won the last 500cc title in 2001 with the Nastro Azzurro Honda team.

He becomes the first rider in the modern era to win the championship for an independent team, and is also Ducati’s third MotoGP title winner. Martin was due to appear on Spanish