Aprilia MotoGP boss Massimo Rivola has confirmed that one of the options on the table in its contract dispute with reigning world champion Jorge Martin is a likely lengthy and expensive court battle, unless Martin agrees to stay with Aprilia or it and Honda can reach an acceptable mutual agreement over his release for 2026.
Speaking in an impromptu media scrum at the Dutch TT, Rivola broke his silence on the issue for the first time since the British Grand Prix last month to confirm that legal action is one of the possible resolutions to the messy saga.
Rivola's decision to comment was prompted by MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta and Martin's manager Albert Valera both speaking out on the situation earlier in the weekend.
"As Dorna, MSMA and IRTA we will not accept the world championship entry of any rider who is not free by a judge's decision or an agreement between the parties," Ezpeleta told Sky Italia's broadcast.
"Now Aprilia says it has a contract in place with Martin while his manager, Valera, says he is free.
"For us to accept that, there is a need either for the two parties to come to an agreement or for a judge to decide the case."
Valera told TV media he believes that they've been able to utilise an exit clause in his rider's contract to declare themselves free agents for 2026 despite the two-season deal signed one year ago - but also admitted that they're prepared to fight to make that clear should Aprilia push back.
"We can say that Jorge is free of contract for next year, for 2026," Valera told MotoGP's TV broadcast. "It's pretty clear for us that we secured the clause, and we are just following the contract.
"He is completely open, available, and we will see what will happen in the future. But again, he had a clause, he had the right to execute the clause, and he did so.
"We deeply believe that he is free, and from the moment that we defend his freedom we are able to talk to other manufacturers."
However, with Rivola once again asserting his team's argument Aprilia believes it still has Martin under contract, it seems that there are now only two likely options: either Martin buys his way out of the deal (an option that is likely to cost a staggeringly high sum) or the two parties end up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"For us, the rider is under contract with us," said Rivola, "and as Carmelo said today, if a rider is contracted with us or if there is any kind of dispute, the rider cannot go anywhere.
"Obviously the priority is for the rider to change his mind, because we took him to fight for the world championship and obviously we think we would have been in that position this year and we would like to be in it next year.
"Marco [Bezzecchi] is showing that it's possible to do it, and with him [Martin] I think even more. We will do everything in our hands to protect the company, now nothing really has changed."
What exactly protecting the company entails has been somewhat firmed up by Rivola, as for the first time he publicly opened the door to potential legal action against Martin should the two parties be unable to find a resolution.
"There are only two options," Rivola stressed. "Either we find an agreement, we sit down and we speak seriously, or we go to the courts. We are ready to do both, and we will do everything we need to do to protect the company."
However, even while threatening to end the dispute in court, Rivola continues to insist that the ultimate aim for Aprilia is to keep the services of the reigning world champion - and says that unrest between the two camps doesn't necessarily mean an end to their relationship.
That could even entail a world in which Martin, unwilling to ride for Aprilia, unprepared to pay for a million Euro exit, and unable to sign for another team, spends 2026 watching MotoGP from the sidelines, should Aprilia's threat of legal action drag out for months.
"For sure it is not a comfortable situation," he admitted. "For sure we got him for a good reason, and I think he chose us for performance reasons. We have shown that the performance is still there.
"In the past, we've seen a rider unhappy with the company or the boss who has fought for the world championship for many years."
