Jorge Martín becomes a factory rider for Aprilia in MotoGP this year, where he will aim to defend last year’s title. Although the Noale-based manufacturer has yet to win consistently, Antonio Jiménez believes that the missing element might have been the right rider.
In an interview with the YouTube channel #ZamTube, the engineer expressed his belief that the 2024 champion could be the missing piece in Aprilia’s puzzle, drawing a comparison to Valentino Rossi’s impact when he joined Yamaha in 2004:
– Perhaps the rider who makes the difference has arrived at Aprilia. When I was with Yamaha in 2000, for me, the bike was good; maybe we were missing the champion. Valentino Rossi joined and won the first race with this bike and took the title. So that means the work had been done, and it was good work. Maybe we were just missing the rider who makes the difference.
Jiménez has no doubts that Martín will achieve success with Aprilia but also acknowledged the formidable opposition he will face: ‘Like Valentino in 2003, Jorge Martín became world champion. He will surely achieve several wins, multiple podiums, and many pole positions, but he will have to contend with a [Francesco] Bagnaia and a Marc Márquez. For me, those three riders are the ones to watch next season’.