Marco Bezzecchi playing down Aprilia hype ahead of 2026 MotoGP season

Aprilia’s form during MotoGP testing this winter has copped a lot of praise from rivals, especially Ducati, but Marco Bezzecchi doesn’t “feel the same as them”.

The Italian manufacturer ended the 2025 campaign with three victories from the final four races, while finishing runner-up in the manufacturers’ standings for the first time.

As such, Aprilia has been pegged over the winter as a serious threat to Ducati dominance in 2026 during the final year of the 1000cc regulations.

Aprilia topped last week’s Buriram test outright, with Marco Bezzecchi leading Ai Ogura of Trackhouse to a 1-2.

This has done nothing to dim the hype around Aprilia coming into this weekend’s season-opener in Thailand, with Marc Marquez noting last Sunday: “Of course, Aprilia, especially with Marco, but also [Jorge] Martin with only one test, and also [Ai] Ogura, they did a step.

“Already last year, Marco finished the second half of the season super-fast. So, he will be a title contender from the beginning.”

But Bezzecchi offered a more cautious outlook: “Well, I’m happy overall about my bike, of course.

“But, during testing, it’s difficult to get a clear comparison because everyone does a different job, you never know what they are doing, you never know what tyre they are using.

“So, at the end, it’s good to see the results of the test, especially here in Thailand, because we tried to prepare for the weekend.

“But it’s not crucial. So, I don’t feel the same as them. I’m sure they will come during the race weekend.

“They were already fast today. We are all close.

“Hopefully, we can do the same in the race weekend, trying to fight with them. But, at the moment, it’s difficult to have a clear comment.”

Asked if he feels he has a bike to contend with in 2026, he replied: “I don’t know. Of course, I would love to.

“My main target right now is to start in a better way than last year, because the first half of last season was a bit up and down.

“So, my target is to be more consistent from the beginning.

“Hopefully, I can fight for good races, good results, but my main target right now is to start in a better way.

“And then, of course, I’m open to changing my target during the season.”