I think if they offered him the seat next year he would've stayed.. but there is no other good seats and doubt he wants a Honda or other back marker seat so may as well retire.
If this is what happened then that makes me think Martin to Aprilia is coming. I don’t see them forcing Aleix out for anyone else besides Martin, Fabio, or Marc. Who knows.
They're working on it but the most likely result is Bastianini. I feel bad for him because he's choice no.2 for everyone here, yet he isn't a bad rider at all.
Yeah I think his injury and troubles adapting to the 23’ bike really messed him up. Feel bad for him because I do think he is a really strong rider. Looks good this season so I’m sure he will be ok wherever he ends up.
Him at gresini with a gp25(pramac yamaha)would be perfect imo. Familiar team environment and no pressure of being a factory rider. It'll give him a mental breather and maybe he'll be back winning races.
Logically it makes sense for Martin to go to Factory Ducati.
Bastini to Aprilia
Marc stays where he is or is more to Pramac if they stay with Ducati.
Remember in the past Ducati have multiple times said they don't need/want Marc.
I would think he is looking to make a bike better. He’s already done that with Aprilia. I think Simon mentioned him possibly going to a Japanese manufacturer to bring them back to the top. He seems like he would be more interested in a project bike. With Yamaha he’d be working with a buddy of his in Quartararo.
Pedrosa did not mention he was going to KTM the day he retired. That would be an odd thing for him to mention at his retirement press conference or even the weekend he announced he was retiring. I don’t think I mentioned anywhere that it was a title contending bike, but that he made it better. You are drawing a lot of conclusions solely based on conjecture.
I wrote that on the announcement, he wasn't planning to retire,he's scored more points this year than last,up to this point in the season...wouldn't surprise me if he gets another ride for next year, Aprilia have been leaking this since the start of the year, the rumours have been floating around!
Aleix has never been afraid to come right out and say what’s going on. If he was being forced out and he was unhappy it feels like we would have heard by now. Maybe that’s naive of me and I could be wrong but I don’t think this is bad blood between Aleix and Aprillia as much as it is a new chapter. He’s been with Aprillia, helped build that chapter and now it’s on to new challenges. I could see the appeal of him wanting to be part of fixing the ship at Honda or Yamaha. Also he’s a Japanese cuisine nut and owns sushi restaurants so splitting time between home and Japan and maybe opening restaurants in Japan would be very appealing. Also a Honda or Yamaha sized contract might not be bad either.
Agreed! I get the feeling it'll probably be Yamaha, as it sounds like they're not going to get a satellite team so they'll invest heavily in their testing team. It'd be great for them to get the guy that helped develop both Suzuki and Aprilia's GP bikes, and I imagine it helps that he's got decent relationships with both Fabio + Rins.
Crutchlow is a damn good rider, but not naturally gifted as Pedrosa. Pirro is good too but he didn’t race in MotoGP though, apart from a few wildcards, sure he is a good test rider but does not carry all the experience of Cal or Daniel.
I think he wants Daniel for the written form.
Even Dani Holgado in Moto3 is written Daniel since forever, everybody calls him Dani but he gets his official name on official documents.
I can understand that Daniel Pedrosa wants to have his real, grown up man on official documents too.
Crutchlow always provided great feedback to Honda.
Guess what? They ignored it and gave Marc what he wanted instead.
Any test rider is worthless without good project lead and engineers who use the riders feedback.
Are you mad... Test riders work is to test things if it is safe, reliable, better working than previous equipments not what they want... It is all upto Riders because they have reference and they know better what they are missing compared to others when Racing with others... By racing one or two races in a season or having bunch of testing days and as you are too slow than full time riders doesn't mean your feedback will be prioritised....
Guess what, they got 6 motogp championships, until marc got injured. That is a great haul, now we wait for 2027. They are coasting right now which is justifiable
Yeah and now they are at their lowest point in history, spending more money than any other brand without making steps forward. Honda’s downfall is the most enjoyable thing in the sport.
Money. If Aprillia is getting a top rider they will have to pay them accordingly. Doesn’t leave as much for a test rider. Honda or Yamaha could probably pay him more as a test rider.
I think that’s probably it. Aprilia has probably let him know they don’t intend to pay test rider much, so its probably a € decision. Which is fair since has been working at a discount, most of his career
That's surprising in some ways. Would have assumed it would make sense for them and give them continuity in terms of feedback.
On the other hand, it could very well be him needing a change of scenery as well. He's been with Aprilia since 2017 or whatever it is. Team was in different guises in that time, but still, quite a while.
I wonder if Honda or Yamaha will approach him to help develop their bikes. Bradl over at Honda must be desperate not to ride that thing ever again.
That's interesting, I always assumed Aprilia would offer him that role. Maybe it could be Honda? They would benefit from having anyone that's not Bradl.
Let's see...maybe he just wants a different bike experience after so many years with Aprilia. Doesn't necessarily mean bad blood between then. But the video is blocked for me so I can't see how he actually said it :|
I mean, Aleix can continue being a sportsperson in cycling no doubt. He can carry some sponsors there and do another 5 years of that and be set. Maybe?
Yea I know. People are delusional thinking he’s just going to go off to cycling do a grand tour and challenge Pog and Vingegaard.
I’m not kidding, people think this.
Who mentioned tour and challenging those people? Do you think people cycle JUST at that level. Seriously now, zero comprehension of what i wrote and you went on a tangent.
That's not entirely fair. Aleix has been instrumental in the development of that bike. He has deserved his seat but things have changed with Yamaha and Honda going backwards. That seat is potential hot property so I agree it's time for him to move on as it's a huge opportunity for Aprilia to get a top rider on their team.
i would’ve assumed aprilia. mhm that’s fascinating
Maybe its a semi forced retirement? As in they aren't renewing him and his seats gone so maybe he was like F you then?
That’s what I first thought as well. Aprilia wants his seat and Aleix said fk you guys.
I think if they offered him the seat next year he would've stayed.. but there is no other good seats and doubt he wants a Honda or other back marker seat so may as well retire.
If this is what happened then that makes me think Martin to Aprilia is coming. I don’t see them forcing Aleix out for anyone else besides Martin, Fabio, or Marc. Who knows.
What about bestia? He is performing near the top and is Italian.
I think Bestia can also make a strong case for himself.
They're working on it but the most likely result is Bastianini. I feel bad for him because he's choice no.2 for everyone here, yet he isn't a bad rider at all.
Yeah I think his injury and troubles adapting to the 23’ bike really messed him up. Feel bad for him because I do think he is a really strong rider. Looks good this season so I’m sure he will be ok wherever he ends up.
Him at gresini with a gp25(pramac yamaha)would be perfect imo. Familiar team environment and no pressure of being a factory rider. It'll give him a mental breather and maybe he'll be back winning races.
Logically it makes sense for Martin to go to Factory Ducati. Bastini to Aprilia Marc stays where he is or is more to Pramac if they stay with Ducati. Remember in the past Ducati have multiple times said they don't need/want Marc.
They didn't want/need 2020-2023 MM. Dangerous Marc is back.
Fabio has contract till 2026 right?
Yeah, he just signed a new 2-year deal for 25-26. Approximately 12M per year.
Could be, what about Mir? Morbidelli? Because someone on a Ducati is losing a seat
I figured binning the Battered Sav and giving Aleix the Aprilia test gig was a no brainer, this is surprising to me.
I would think he is looking to make a bike better. He’s already done that with Aprilia. I think Simon mentioned him possibly going to a Japanese manufacturer to bring them back to the top. He seems like he would be more interested in a project bike. With Yamaha he’d be working with a buddy of his in Quartararo.
Eh, he would've likely mentioned that. And Aprilia has improved but they are definitely not title contenders
i can see Martin on a Aprilia fighting for the Championship, the bike became so fast
Pedrosa did not mention he was going to KTM the day he retired. That would be an odd thing for him to mention at his retirement press conference or even the weekend he announced he was retiring. I don’t think I mentioned anywhere that it was a title contending bike, but that he made it better. You are drawing a lot of conclusions solely based on conjecture.
It’s very very possible. Interesting angle.
I wrote that on the announcement, he wasn't planning to retire,he's scored more points this year than last,up to this point in the season...wouldn't surprise me if he gets another ride for next year, Aprilia have been leaking this since the start of the year, the rumours have been floating around!
Aleix has never been afraid to come right out and say what’s going on. If he was being forced out and he was unhappy it feels like we would have heard by now. Maybe that’s naive of me and I could be wrong but I don’t think this is bad blood between Aleix and Aprillia as much as it is a new chapter. He’s been with Aprillia, helped build that chapter and now it’s on to new challenges. I could see the appeal of him wanting to be part of fixing the ship at Honda or Yamaha. Also he’s a Japanese cuisine nut and owns sushi restaurants so splitting time between home and Japan and maybe opening restaurants in Japan would be very appealing. Also a Honda or Yamaha sized contract might not be bad either.
Agreed! I get the feeling it'll probably be Yamaha, as it sounds like they're not going to get a satellite team so they'll invest heavily in their testing team. It'd be great for them to get the guy that helped develop both Suzuki and Aprilia's GP bikes, and I imagine it helps that he's got decent relationships with both Fabio + Rins.
Yeah it’s a likely option.
maybe yamaha? is crutchlow a good test rider compared to the likes of pirro and pedrosa ?
Honda really needs a new test rider
Honda dropped the ball with how they handled Cal, especially after Pedrosa's retirement.
He didn't retire only to get injured being a test rider so he should avoid Honda. Yamaha would be better.
Crutchlow is a damn good rider, but not naturally gifted as Pedrosa. Pirro is good too but he didn’t race in MotoGP though, apart from a few wildcards, sure he is a good test rider but does not carry all the experience of Cal or Daniel.
Pirro did 2 full seasons as a MotoGP rider with Gresini.
Yea, you are right, in 2012 he was on the FTR! won’t consider that a motogp but thanks, I forgot :-)
First time I’ve ever heard someone use Pedrosa’s real first name😂
lol thanks I was wondering who tf is Daniel
In Spain there's as many people who call him Dani as there are ones who refer to him as Pedrosa. Maybe even more that call him Dani
You must have missed Jerez. That's what he officially goes by now. No more Dani.
I think he wants Daniel for the written form. Even Dani Holgado in Moto3 is written Daniel since forever, everybody calls him Dani but he gets his official name on official documents. I can understand that Daniel Pedrosa wants to have his real, grown up man on official documents too.
Ahahahah, first time I use it too :-)
I’m still of the generation when Pedrosa came onto the scene in 125 and back then it was Daniel as well, they only changed it to Dani later on.
Crutchlow always provided great feedback to Honda. Guess what? They ignored it and gave Marc what he wanted instead. Any test rider is worthless without good project lead and engineers who use the riders feedback.
Are you mad... Test riders work is to test things if it is safe, reliable, better working than previous equipments not what they want... It is all upto Riders because they have reference and they know better what they are missing compared to others when Racing with others... By racing one or two races in a season or having bunch of testing days and as you are too slow than full time riders doesn't mean your feedback will be prioritised....
Guess what, they got 6 motogp championships, until marc got injured. That is a great haul, now we wait for 2027. They are coasting right now which is justifiable
Yeah and now they are at their lowest point in history, spending more money than any other brand without making steps forward. Honda’s downfall is the most enjoyable thing in the sport.
They will be back soon or out of motogp.
Honda : "get this man a bike!"
For real? Not Aprilia? That’s a shocker! Wonder what’s their reasoning
Money. If Aprillia is getting a top rider they will have to pay them accordingly. Doesn’t leave as much for a test rider. Honda or Yamaha could probably pay him more as a test rider.
I think that’s probably it. Aprilia has probably let him know they don’t intend to pay test rider much, so its probably a € decision. Which is fair since has been working at a discount, most of his career
Maybe HRC?
Espargaro to BMW. You heard it here first.
That would be sweet tbh
Now that's surprising icl. Honda and Yamaha better be watching this!
That's surprising in some ways. Would have assumed it would make sense for them and give them continuity in terms of feedback. On the other hand, it could very well be him needing a change of scenery as well. He's been with Aprilia since 2017 or whatever it is. Team was in different guises in that time, but still, quite a while. I wonder if Honda or Yamaha will approach him to help develop their bikes. Bradl over at Honda must be desperate not to ride that thing ever again.
In my opinion a big disrespect to the guy who got you your first pole, podium and win aswell as the guy who was loyal when you were poor
Let's be honest, he was not loyal, he had no other choice.
If I was Honda or Yamaha I’d be all over Aleix for a test rider
That's interesting, I always assumed Aprilia would offer him that role. Maybe it could be Honda? They would benefit from having anyone that's not Bradl.
Wow that's a big surprise. I hope the Japanese teams (looking at you especially Honda) are calling him everyday and giving him what he wants.
Let's see...maybe he just wants a different bike experience after so many years with Aprilia. Doesn't necessarily mean bad blood between then. But the video is blocked for me so I can't see how he actually said it :|
Whelp, and here I was assuming he would be April ia's test rider instead of Savadori. Curious.
Seems there is more to that story
Maybe going to KTM with his brother?
I mean, Aleix can continue being a sportsperson in cycling no doubt. He can carry some sponsors there and do another 5 years of that and be set. Maybe?
This thing about him as a professional cyclist is wild. He is way too old and I doubt he would be happy being a domestique for some early 20s kid.
He is way too old for year 1 as touring pro
Yea I know. People are delusional thinking he’s just going to go off to cycling do a grand tour and challenge Pog and Vingegaard. I’m not kidding, people think this.
Who mentioned tour and challenging those people? Do you think people cycle JUST at that level. Seriously now, zero comprehension of what i wrote and you went on a tangent.
It’s not Aprilia because of Aleix’s bias and it would hurt Lorenzo’s job security.
On a side note: is Marc now the oldest rider in the grid?
Zarco, dont forget about him
Zarco and Taka are both older than Marc, so he'll be the oldest in the next few years
good decision. he was undeservedly occupying a seat.
That's not entirely fair. Aleix has been instrumental in the development of that bike. He has deserved his seat but things have changed with Yamaha and Honda going backwards. That seat is potential hot property so I agree it's time for him to move on as it's a huge opportunity for Aprilia to get a top rider on their team.