MotoGP analyst Michael Laverty believes there is some animosity brewing in the factory Aprilia camp after seeing Marco Bezecicci and Jorge Martin take elbows out during the Dutch Grand Prix sprint race at Assen.
After the joy of taking his first pole position in MotoGP in nearly two years on Saturday morning, George Martin Performance in the Asean Sprint race undoubtedly brought him back down to earth.
The Spaniard immediately lost the lead of the race on the line to Trackhouse No. OguraAnd he had no answer for the rest of the actions that were completed against him Aprilia Stable friends.
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Taking the checkered flag in P5 as the last of the Knoll-based construction riders and more importantly behind his main title rival and teammate; Marco Bezecchi.
The two factory Aprilia riders were locked in a heated battle for most of the season, offering nothing to give the other an inch to gain an advantage in the championship standings.
One particular move sent alarm bells ringing in the MotoGP pundit’s head. Michael LavertyBezcicci and Martin now see a significant change in the way they interact in the heat of battle.
Michael Laverty in the Asean Sprint race with Marco Bezecic and George Martin
Season TNT Sports Analysis of a 13-round competition in the north of the Netherlands, Laverty and colleagues Sylvan Guintoli They both reached the same conclusion in one of the final stages of the race, with championship leader Martin.
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In the seventh lap, in their intense battle for P4, Bezeci looked determined to push Martin in the 10th lap as he tried to make a slow move on the Spaniard. He finished past, but not without showing the aggressive side of his riding style.
After the checkered flag, Laverty gave his thoughts on the call, “It was a bit of a fight between the two of them. It was a deliberate, intentional, cut of Bezecchi on the edge of the lane, which showed Martin the limit of the lane.”
He then spoke of how he felt the atmosphere between Aprilia’s hard-charging duo had changed in recent race weekends, saying: “There’s a definite needle built there over the last few weeks.”
Guintoli fully agreed, saying the Italian rider knows exactly what he’s doing. “If you’re there, you know what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re running up to the lane and curb, and you know Martin’s out there.
“There’s only one way this could end, and that’s Martin going out on the Corb where he doesn’t want to be. That was a bit of a ‘get out of the way’ kind of move, it’s good to see.”
The Asean Sprint marked the first racing event since then. Ducati and Aprilia have confirmed the 2027 lineup during the week. With Martin now riding for himself and Bezecchi racing for the team, expect plenty more fireworks as the title race continues to heat up.
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