Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Melandri believes it is ‘fundamental’ for Aprilia to make it clear who is their number one rider.
The opening round of the 2026 MotoGP season was an impressive showing from Aprilia as their four riders all finished inside the top five in the Thailand Grand Prix.
After Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the Sprint Race on Saturday, he bounced back on Sunday and dominated the Grand Prix from the start until the chequered flag.
With Raul Fernandez in third place, Jorge Martin in fourth place, and Ai Ogura in fifth place, with Aprilia now looking like the best manufacturer there have been calls for a pecking order for the riders.
Marco Bezzecchi bounces back from his Sprint crash to win in Thailand! 😍 Is this the start of his title charge?
Marco Melandri believes it is ‘fundamental’ for a pecking order to be made clear
Whilst discussing the opening round of the season on Chiacchiere da Box, former MotoGP race winner, Marco Melandri called for a clear pecking order at Aprilia.
The Italian believes that Bezzecchi is in his best form and could be made ‘nervous’ if his teammate, Martin, begins to challenge him in the coming rounds.
This has led to Melandri believing it is ‘fundamental’ for Aprilia to make it clear who is the first and second rider so their title challenge does not become interrupted by teammates fighting.
Melandri said, “Bezzecchi is on a roll right now, so I would try to make sure Martin doesn’t make him nervous. In my opinion, the fact that there is a first and second rider will be fundamental. Aprilia now need to optimise.
“Then, as we’ve said before, Thailand was a track where Aprilia didn’t go well at, but now it’s flying, so they know they’ve closed the gap, in my opinion, across the board.
“It’s an opportunity at the world championship this year that mustn’t be wasted, and if I were Rivola, I’d be thinking about the world championship.”
Who was your rider of the day for the Thailand Grand Prix? 🏍️
Let us know in the comments below!
Marco Bezzecchi is the only rider who can challenge Ducati
After the opening round of the season it became clear that Bezzecchi could be a real thorn in the side for Ducati throughout the year if his strong pace continues.
MotoGP agent, Carlo Pernat, called Bezzecchi’s performance ‘stratospheric’ and Pernat believes Bezzecchi will be the one ‘true antagonist’ for Ducati in 2026.
However, whilst trying to keep expectations low heading into the remainder of the season, Aprilia’s CEO Massimo Rivola has pointed the finger back towards Ducati.
After the Grand Prix on Sunday, Rivola labelled Marc Marquez as ‘the rider to beat’, even though his rider had just dominated the opening Grand Prix of the year.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
