Jorge Martin will wear the number one plate at his new team Aprilia as the reigning MotoGP champion in 2025.
Martin's bike with the number one was revealed as part of Aprilia's launch - held in the studios of Italian MotoGP broadcaster Sky Italia - for the upcoming campaign, the Italian factory team becoming the second outfit to reveal its 2025 colours after partner outfit Trackhouse did so two days prior.
The number one has been a relatively rare sight in the MotoGP era, in large part thanks to the fact that its two defining riders - seven-time champion Valentino Rossi and six-time champion Marc Marquez - favoured sticking with their permanent numbers #46 and #93 respectively instead of using their right to defend their title with the #1.
But over at Ducati, Pecco Bagnaia did just that, succeeding in his title defense in 2023 but coming up short last year.
Martin was coy on whether or not he'd run the number one after sealing the title last year, but he was widely expected to do so.
For one, his regular MotoGP number - #89 - isn't necessarily a career number but a replacement, as he'd run under #88 in Red Bull Rookies Cup, Moto3 and Moto2 but then had to give it up coming into MotoGP as it was already claimed by Miguel Oliveira.
But 2025 also represented a rare chance for his new employer Aprilia to run #1 on one of its bikes, as the Italian manufacturer - though having made gains in recent years - is yet to win a premier-class title of its own.
The value if an inherited number one is lesser - as Ducati's Davide Tardozzi jibed TNT Sports last year: "If Aprilia buys this number one, let's see if they can keep it next year."
Clearly, however, this hasn't worried Aprilia or Martin when weighed up against the commercial benefits and the prestige of it, both of Martin winning the title and of Aprilia zeroing in on and poaching away a now-MotoGP champion.
Marco Bezzecchi will be Martin's team-mate in an all-new Aprilia line-up, following the semi-retirement of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales switching to KTM. Bezzecchi retains Monster Energy sponsorship, while Martin continues to be backed by Red Bull.
The Aprilia works livery in itself is relatively unchanged compared to 2024, save for the introduction of a new sponsor in Italian dairy company Sterilgarda - which was prominent on the bikes of Aprilia's aforementioned satellite team Trackhouse last year.
A new tech chief heads up the project in Fabiano Sterlacchini, formerly of KTM and Ducati, after Honda signed away Aprilia's long-time design chief Romano Albesiano.
"The goal is clear," said Aprilia motorsport boss Massimo Rivola, pointing to Aprilia's long-term ambition to win the title.
"In the short term, let's say [establishing] the relationship between the team, the [new] riders and the bike is the priority. The shorter that time is, the faster will be the second step."
Aprilia was particularly proud of having brought a prototype 2025 bike to last year's post-season test in Barcelona already - a first for the team in its current iteration, as it would usually debut its '25 machine in the new year.
"It's a step forward compared to the old one," said Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori - who recently signed a contract extension - of the 2025 machine.
"We've worked on some details - like agility, the behaviour of the bike, aerodynamics."
