Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia have been tipped to be the closest contender to dethrone Ducati in the upcoming MotoGP season, but Max Biaggi has now performed a U-turn on his earlier prediction for how the battle will play out.
Following six straight years of Ducati dominance in the constructors’ standings, Aprilia emerged as a genuine contender for race wins during the second half of the 2025 MotoGP season.
Marco Bezzecchi now has Marc Marquez firmly in his sights and is currently the leading candidate to put a stop to the Spaniard’s utter dominance that gripped the premier class last season.
However, a changing of the guard may not happen straight away. Despite Aprilia ambassador Max Biaggi claiming that they no longer have ‘weaknesses’, the four-time 250cc world champion has now changed his mind.
- READ MORE: Ducati CEO responds to Max Biaggi’s claim that Aprilia are the only Italian constructor in MotoGP
Finish the sentence: Aprilia will win ___ Grands Prix in 2026
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Max Biaggi doesn’t think Aprilia will be able to challenge Ducati at the first round of the 2026 MotoGP season
In a recent interview with MOW at the season launch event of Aprilia’s 2026 MotoGP bike, Biaggi gave a much more guarded verdict on the Italian constructor’s chances during the opening rounds of the upcoming campaign.
Asked again for his thoughts on Noale’s chances of taking Ducati’s spot at the top of the standings, he said, “Aprilia is undoubtedly the most competitive bike, along with Ducati, at least looking at last year.
“It must be said that Marc [Marquez] won a championship by dominating; the real question is how competitive Marco Bezzecchi will be with this bike compared to him.
“I think it will be a great fight, although I don’t think we’ll see it in Thailand.”
Despite the change in tune, Biaggi did identify the pre-season tests as a chance to tweak a few things and get the RS-GP26 into the right set-up for the long season ahead.
The Italian added, “Fortunately for us, there will be a test beforehand, which will give teams that perhaps haven’t been so strong on that track a chance to get into the best shape possible. I’m very positive.
“I must say that I find the riders confident and calm. They’ve definitely understood that the company is competitive and has some positive technical innovations in store for them for 2026.”
A Marc Marquez beater?
Jorge Martin suffers yet another injury setback ahead of the new MotoGP season
The only member of the Aprilia MotoGP team who isn’t looking forward to the imminent beginning of the season is Jorge Martin, who has suffered another injury setback just weeks before the first race weekend of the year.
It was previously understood that the 2024 world champion was recovering well from the broken collarbone he suffered during the final rounds of last season, but Martin has since decided to undergo further surgeries to make sure there are no underlying issues in the future.
It marks yet another bump in the road for Martin following the injury nightmare he has endured since arriving at Noale ahead of the 2025 campaign.
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