George Martin to be with the Motogp team of Aprilia after all – how it happened here

During Friday in Motogp German Grand Prix, it became rapidly clear that George martinThe contractual deadlock with Aprilia was now over. The world champion will complete its two -year deal by remaining in the team for 2026.

But what was it that ended a deadlock that started in the French Grand Prix in May, shortly after which Motorsport.com broke the story of the world,

Finally it was the intervention of Dornna’s CEO Carmello Azpeletta in Essen, who buried the expectations of Martin’s release from his Aprilia contract to sign with Honda for the next season.

The deadlock between the Spanish champion and the Italian manufacturer ended effectively, at the same time when Azpeletta warned that neither Dorna nor IRTA – Teams Association – would register any rider with an unresolved conflict with a team or manufacturer.

“We will not accept registration of any rider in the World Championship, which is not independent, either through the decision of a judge or reaching an agreement with the other side,” Azpeletta said.

These words of the top executive at the championship reduced the strategy of Ryder and his agent, Albert Valera. At the same time, he supported the stance of Aprilia that the release clause of the contract was invalid due to Martin’s long -term injury.

Beyond a few days of reflection and ahead of its expected return to racing next week in Bronns, Madrid -born Rider has decided what he believes on his constitutional rights and focuses on racing instead, continues with unlikes in 2026, as the diaryo told this Friday.

To understand everything that takes Martin to this point, we must return to Saturday of 2024 Italian Grand Prix in June. That day, Valera realized that Ducati would not follow through an oral agreement, which took place a week ago to promote Martin for his factory team. Borgo Panigel manufacturer chose instead Mark marksOn Sunday night, informing Martin that he rejected from the selected.

After this disappointment, Valera approached Honda, who had already shown interest in Martin weeks ago and now confirmed her commitment to sign it. At the same time, Alex asparagarao – Still ‘Capitano’ of Aprilia made her step. Catalan Rider spoke to Masimo Revola, CEO of Aprilia and encouraged him to work quickly with a proposal.

An agreement was prepared an overnight draft and signed on Monday morning. Valera informed Martin about Honda’s offer, which was quite attractive, but Ryder believed that the Tokyo bike was not at the parity with RS-GP. Nevertheless, to cover its bases, Martin had a section added into the contract, which, in principle, would provide him with a escape path to 2026.

It seemed simple to activate that section: if he was not out of the top five in standing after the first six races of the season, he would be free to sign with Honda – and only Honda.

A week before the deadline, which coincided with the French Grand Prix, Aprilia informed Martin that it considered the clause to be invalid as his injury stopped him from participating in any race till that point. Martin secretly traveled to Man’s to inform the Aprilia that he was still activating the clause. He also met Azpeta, who even made it clear that he would not accept the move and Martin had to stick to the two -year deal, which he signed.

All parties involved tried to keep the dispute confidential. But when the Motorsport.com broke the story, the tension between Martin and the team touched the sky.

10 days later, beyond British Grand Prix, Aprilia broke her silence with a brief statement:

“Anaralia racing denys that there has been any talk between parties to modify the contract period, which originally agrees. The team does not have any comments on cases that do not directly worry, but other teams hope that they will avoid proposal to any kind of riders who are subject to contract. Such behavior will not be valid, in any case, in any case, in any case.

The statement was clearly directed in Honda, which Rivola had already warned privately on Le Mans.

When the contract was drafted, Martin’s lawyers attempted to ensure that any legal dispute would be dealt with by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but Annahia insisted that they should be handled in the courts of matching.

Along with realizing the Martin camp, Valera tried to shake the pot in Essen, in a gesture for Honda. During a live Motogp broadcast, he said: “George Martin is free to sign whatever he wants.”

However, the move triggered Ezpeta’s decisive response, strengthened the position of Aprilia and refused to negotiate any kind of release. Valera also proposed a procurement, but the amount of Aprilia demanded was completely unforgivable. From that point, the escape plan was completely closed, and Martin admitted that he would not wear HRC leather before 2027.

The trend of Aprilia is fully supported by the original company Pijio Group, being firm at every step. At the same time, the team expressed the intention to win over the current champion with a MotogP project, which has moved far since the beginning of the year. Marco Bezchi Win the British Grand Prix.

This approach was clear during Test Day at Vryano on Wednesday, when Martin returned to ride for the first time after being injured in Qatar. The top brass of the team participated in the test, which repeated his inclusive approach in Sachsenring on Friday.

For about two months since the story broke, the final result is that Martin has decided to surrender. He will run with Aprilia by the end of 2026, which aims to maintain his position as a top contender in the championship.

After that, he can decide his future independently – which, for now, is unlikely to include Aprilia. Time will tell if Honda is still interested in Martin for 2027.