Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia will hope that the New Year also marks a new start after he had to watch Marc Marquez win the 2025 MotoGP title while he produced a miserable year.
Ducati refreshed their factory line-up last season, as Marquez joined Bagnaia at the Bologna Bullets after seeing off Jorge Martin for the opportunity to replace Enea Bastianini. It proved to be a great decision for Ducati and Marquez, as he would dominate the field on the GP25.
But while Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare, Bagnaia delivered his worst campaign since he rode for Pramac in the 2020 season. Bagnaia finished only fifth in the standings on 288 points, while Marquez got 545 despite missing the final four rounds.
Marquez sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in the round immediately after he lifted his seventh premier class title so far. Bagnaia failed to carry Ducati in Marquez’s absence, as the Italian finished just one of the final seven Grands Prix which was when he won in Japan.
Would the factory Ducati team have won the 2025 MotoGP title without Marc Marquez?
Luca Cadalora names Marco Bezzecchi as the ‘best’ 2026 title rival to Marc Marquez for MotoGP fans
Aprilia took advantage of Marquez’s injury-enforced absence at the end of 2025 to emerge as a leading force ahead of launching a title bid in 2026. Marco Bezzecchi won the final two Grands Prix of 2025 in Portugal and Valencia, which lifted him to third in the championship.
READ MORE: Way too early 2026 MotoGP predictions, including Marc Marquez’s title rival
Bezzecchi’s end-of-season form in 2025 also now encourages Luca Cadalora to believe that the 27-year-old can fight Marquez for the 2026 MotoGP title. The Italian also feels it would be “best” for MotoGP fans if a rider from another team, like Bezzecchi, can fight Marquez.
Cadalora told Moto.it: “It’s interesting because it ended with a nice crescendo with Aprilia and Bezzecchi. We at home in front of the TV like to see a battle, you know? Then maybe if it’s two brands rather than riders with the same bike, we enjoy it even more.
“So, why not? Why not hope for a great duel? Marquez [against] Bezzecchi. Ducati [against] Aprilia. It would really be the best for us fans.”
Marco Bezzecchi helped Aprilia build a potential Ducati-beating bike in 2025
Yamaha ace Fabio Quartararo remains the most recent rider to challenge for a title aboard a bike that is not a Ducati from when the Frenchman finished 17 points shy of Bagnaia back in 2022. Quartararo’s 2021 title also remains the most recent title by a rider not using a Ducati.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi’s route to seven MotoGP titles
Finish the sentence: In 2027, the Aprilia rider line-up will be…
Factory Ducati rider Bagnaia beat fellow Ducati stable rider Martin of Pramac to win the title in 2023, before the Italian lost to the Spaniard in 2024. Martin joined Aprilia in 2025, but the 27-year-old could not defend his maiden championship after he sustained injury after injury.
Martin was expected to lead Aprilia in his first season with the Italian factory, but Bezzecchi instead took the reins in his first term in Noale. Bezzecchi’s efforts also arguably saw Aprilia finish 2025 with the best MotoGP bike before teams begin to focus on the 2027 regulations.
As well as Bezzecchi’s victories for the factory Aprilia team in Portugal and Valencia to finish 2025, Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez secured his maiden MotoGP race win in Australia on the RS-GP25. Fernandez also came second behind Bezzecchi by 0.686s in the Valencia GP.
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