‘Marco Bezzecchi and I are not friends, but we are not enemies either’

Jorge Martin has played down the possibility of a rift developing between him and team-mate Marco Bezzecchi in their pursuit of the 2026 MotoGP title.

The two Aprilia riders have emerged as the early favourites for the championship, with just one point separating the duo after the first five rounds of the season.

Bezzecchi was expected to lead the squad’s charge this year following an impressive 2025 campaign in which he finished runner-up to champion Marc Marquez and won three grands prix.

However, Martin’s rapid return to form after a nightmare first season with Aprilia last year has changed the internal dynamic within the factory. At last weekend’s French Grand Prix, Martin defeated Bezzecchi for the first time this season, winning both the sprint and the grand prix in his most competitive showing since his title-winning 2024 campaign.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Martin is set to leave the outfit at the end of the year to join Yamaha, while Bezzecchi has already committed his future to Aprilia and is widely viewed as the manufacturer’s long-term leader.

But Martin dismissed suggestions that a title fight between the two riders could create problems within the team.

«I have not heard anything about that from Aprilia, so I cannot comment on that specific point,” the Spaniard said, when asked about a strategy Aprilia is understood to have prepared to give both riders an equal opportunity in the title fight.

“Marco and I have a great relationship. It is clear that we are not friends, but we are not enemies either. We are team-mates and we are always going to try to help each other to beat the other brands; that is our objective. 

“I get along well with Marco and there is no reason for that moment, that supposed ‘clash’, to arrive. It makes no sense that it should happen.”

There were plenty of nervous faces in the Aprilia garage when Martin closed in on long-time leader Bezzecchi and eventually passed him for victory in the French GP.

Martin already has experience of fighting for — and winning — the championship from his time at Pramac Ducati, while Bezzecchi was at best an outsider contender in 2023, when he won three grands prix for VR46. 

Martin said it is important for him and Bezzecchi to maintain a cordial relationship to stave off any threats from Ducati in the championship.

«We respect each other a lot as riders and, above all, as team-mates, and that is important to maintain harmony in the box,” said Martin.

«In the hypothetical case that something happened, which it does not have to, it would change the way the two teams work together, and that is something that would make us lose much more than what could be gained on the track by fighting between ourselves.»

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— The Motorsport.com Team