Marco Bezzecchi
Massimo Rivola has called for “respect” between Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin in the 2026 MotoGP title race, as Aprilia are reluctant to issue any team orders this early.
Aprilia now look set to have both of their riders contend for the championship in 2026, after Bezzecchi hit the April break leading Martin atop the standings by just four points. KTM rival Pedro Acosta in third place also trails Bezzecchi by 21 points after the opening three rounds.
Ducati star and 2025 champion Marc Marquez also sits 36 points adrift of Bezzecchi down in fifth place, five points from VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio in fourth. Bezzecchi and Martin have opened an early lead as the only riders to clinch successive podiums so far this season.
Bezzecchi has made the perfect start to 2026 after taking Grand Prix wins in Thailand, Brazil and the United States. Martin won the Sprint at COTA, and he also sealed second during the Grands Prix in Goiania and Texas. Acosta is the only non-Aprilia rider to record two podiums.
Here’s the MotoGP championship standings after the United States GP!
It is Aprilia's to lose already?
Aprilia will not use team orders unless Marco Bezzecchi or Jorge Martin cannot win the 2026 title
Even Marquez admits Bezzecchi is “unstoppable” at the moment, having led every lap of the last five Grands Prix – after also winning the final two races of the 2025 MotoGP season. But Bezzecchi crashing out of the Buriram and COTA Sprints have helped Martin to stay in touch.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marco Bezzecchi from net worth to race number
But Rivola accepts that it is still very early in the season, so Aprilia will not yet ask Martin or Bezzecchi to help the other win the 2026 riders’ title. The Italian crew do not currently plan on changing their way of thinking until either pilot is “mathematically” out of the title race.
“It would certainly be nicer if, considering these considerations, we were three GPs from the end and not three from the start,” Rivola told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s true that Bez has never won, so it’s all new to him. But I see him very focused. We’ll talk about it later. As Lucio Battisti used to say, ‘We’ll only find out by living’.
“Yes, yes, yes [they are free to race]. If one of them is mathematically out of the running and can help the other, we’ll see. The important thing is that there is respect, and you can see whether there is or isn’t. The first to notice are the riders.”
Massimo Rivola continues to leave the door ajar to Jorge Martin staying at Aprilia in 2027
Rivola revealing that Aprilia will let Martin battle Bezzecchi for the 2026 MotoGP riders’ title may surprise some, as the former is expected to leave the Noale crew at the end of the year. Martin is expected to leave Aprilia for Yamaha in 2027, as Fabio Quartararo is joining Honda.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
When will be the first race that Marc Marquez beats Marco Bezzecchi?
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It is also said that Aprilia are set to sign Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia on a 2+2 year contract to replace Martin, having given Bezzecchi a new deal in February. But no deals have officially been completed yet, and Aprilia CEO Rivola continues to leave a door ajar for Martin to stay.
Rivola said: “Aside from the confirmation of the Bez, there have been no announcements, right? We’ve forced ourselves to take one day at a time.”
Martin and Bezzecchi both joined Aprilia in 2025, but the former has often been linked with a move away after enduring an injury-plagued first year in Noale. Martin is only now starting to get back to full fitness, and it could see him win another title after taking the crown in 2024.
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