Aprilia “happy” with the “difficult situation” facing them in MotoGP 2026

Aprilia Racing team manager Paolo Bonora has echoed the thoughts of Massimo Rivola on the potentially “difficult situation” the squad faces in the 2026 MotoGP season.

Aprilia ended the 2025 MotoGP season by taking three race wins in the last four rounds, one for Raul Fernandez in Australia and two for Marco Bezzecchi in Portugal and Valencia.

As such, the factory entered the 2026 preseason with momentum, as well as growing expectation that they may be able to take the title fight to Ducati and Marc Marquez in 2026.

Through two rounds (of 22), Aprilia is living up to that expectation. Bezzecchi may have thrown away a strong shot at the Thailand Sprint, and been only fourth in the Brazil Sprint, but he’s won both grands prix so far, in dominant fashion, and leads the championship on 56 points.

Furthering Aprilia’s strong position at the start of this season is Jorge Martin, who was on the podium in both races in Goiania – his first rostrum finishes for Aprilia – and sits second in the riders’ standings, 11 points behind Bezzecchi.

In Brazil, Martin proved that Aprilia’s race win and title chances this year do not necessarily fall only in the hands of Bezzecchi, but that he can be a threat for the Noale factory as well.

But it presents a complicated situation for Aprilia, who may now have to navigate a 2026 season that sees both of their factory riders trying to win not only races but also the MotoGP title.

The subject has been brought up to Massimo Rivola, the Aprilia Racing CEO. Rivola’s opinion was that being in the position to have two riders battling for wins is one that Aprilia should not be afraid of, despite the difficulty it presents.

This was echoed by Paolo Bonora after the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Aprilia Racing team manager counting on the intelligence of his team’s two riders to help the outfit as a whole navigate a season in which both of them could be fighting for the MotoGP title.

“Already Massimo Rivola answered this question and I remember that he said that he will be happy to manage this difficult situation,” said Bonora, speaking to TNT Sports after the Brazil race.

“I think he was fully right on this: we are happy to manage this difficult situation. 

“We know that we have in our garage two talented riders, but we have seen that they are so smart and they are working together in a very positive way.”