Bezzecchi to Aprilia, Bastianini
and Vinales to KTM!
M
otoGP has been on a three-
week hiatus due to the post-
ponement of the inaugural GP of
Kazakhstan. But team managers
and manufacturers have been
busier than ever, ensuring their
rider lineups are complete for
2025.
After the confirmation of Marc
Marquez joining Ducati's fac
-
tory team next year and Jorge
Martin sensationally signing for
Aprilia, another slew of surprise
announcements came in recent
weeks. First, KTM confirmed
the signing of Enea Bastianini
and Maverick Vinales for its
Tech3 squad. Aprilia then moved
quickly to replace Vinales with
Marco Bezzecchi, who will join
from VR46 Ducati.
Bastianini had been keen to
leave Ducati when it became
clear he would not be kept
in factory red next year. It's
believed that in a bid to sign
Martin, Aprilia used the majority
of its budget. Taking a paycut
wasn't an option for Vinales,
who immediately began looking
elsewhere.
KTM was delighted by the
developments. Pit Beirer, Mo
-
torsport Director of the Austrian
factory, said, "Looking now at
the points standings, fourth
[Bastianini], fifth [Pedro Acosta],
sixth [Vinales] and seventh [Brad
Binder] are with us. I feel it will
help us to go for our big target."
One factor that convinced
Bastianini and Vinales to sign
for Tech3 was the stunning early
season performances of Acosta.
"Pedro helped us a lot to also
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P33
Marco Bezzecchi's
move to Aprilia
means the factory
will at long last have
its coveted Italian
rider in the saddle.
Bezzecchi will
partner with Jorge
Martin in an all-new
rider lineup.
