Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia ace Marco Bezzecchi proved his status as Ducati rival Marc Marquez’s biggest threat for the 2026 MotoGP riders’ title with his record-breaking start to the season.
Marquez started 2026 knowing that he could make history this season by equalling Giacomo Agostini’s record eight premier class titles. The 33-year-old moved level with Valentino Rossi as a seven-time champion in 2025 after joining Ducati, also marking his first title since 2019.
But Marquez ended 2025 on the sidelines after he required surgery for the coracoid fracture and ligament damage in his right shoulder that he suffered in October, after being taken out by Bezzecchi in the Indonesian Grand Prix. The injury has even limited Marquez this season.
It is evident that Marquez’s shoulder is still not right, as he has looked in clear discomfort so far this year. Add in that Ducati know the GP26 is not the best bike on the 2026 grid, and the Cervera native has struggled to be a regular threat to Aprilia rider Bezzecchi so far this term.
Here’s the MotoGP championship standings after the United States GP!
It is Aprilia's to lose already?
Jorge Martin can use his 2024 title fight to help Marco Bezzecchi beat Marc Marquez in 2026
Bezzecchi leads his Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin atop the riders’ standings at the break in the 2026 MotoGP calendar from the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix, with Marquez just fifth in the standings. Marquez trails Bezzecchi by 36 points after the first three rounds.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marco Bezzecchi from net worth to race number
Yet while Bezzecchi has also now set a new MotoGP record for consecutive Grand Prix laps led at 121 and has become the first rider since Marquez back in 2014 to win the first three Grands Prix in a season, the start of the campaign has not been perfect for the 27-year-old.
Bezzecchi has to stop crashing out of Sprint Races if he is to beat Marquez to the 2026 title, after crashing out of the lead in the Buriram Sprint and P2 in the COTA Sprint. Bezzecchi fell while trying to grow his lead in the Sprint in Thailand and while chasing the lead in America.
If Bezzecchi is to deny Marquez the 2026 title, then the Italian must stop making mistakes in Sprint Races. He only has to look at how Martin beat Francesco Bagnaia to win the 2024 title for how costly his errors can prove to be, as Bagnaia won 11 of the 20 Grands Prix that year.
Martin only won three Grands Prix and seven Sprints during his 2024 title-winning season at Pramac. But the Spaniard beat Bagnaia to win the title by 10 points as he accepted the best results he could achieve without overstepping the limits, which Bezzecchi now needs to do.
Jorge Martin should now believe he is also a 2026 MotoGP title rival for Marco Bezzecchi
Martin can even be the perfect ally to help Bezzecchi adapt his mindset and stop crashing in Sprint Races in his title fight with Marquez, based on what he learned from fighting Bagnaia. Yet Martin may also now be Bezzecchi’s worst nightmare, as he will feel he is in the title mix.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Jorge Martin from net worth to girlfriend
Jorge Martin wins the COTA Sprint Race! Is the 2024 champion finally back?
After his year from hell with injuries last year, Martin is almost back to his best. Martin won the COTA Sprint on the final lap, and he has now scored Grand Prix podiums in back-to-back rounds after taking his first for Aprilia with P2 in Brazil and also took P2 in the United States.
Martin insists there is “no point” in thinking about the 2026 title, but he should believe that a second championship is now on the cards. Martin is just four points behind Bezzecchi atop the riders’ standings at the early-season break, and he is still not operating at 100% fitness.
After having further surgeries over the winter on injuries he suffered to his left hand and right collarbone in 2025, Martin had expected to “struggle” physically in the USA as it was a back-to-back with the Brazilian GP. His main aim upon arriving in Texas was also to finish the race.
Now, having won the COTA Sprint and taken back-to-back podiums in Brazil and America, on top of also having a four-week break prior to the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on April 24-26, Martin should feel he can start to make his case for the title at the start of the European leg.
Facing competition from inside the Aprilia garage through Martin, along with having to rival one of the greats in Marquez, for the 2026 MotoGP title could be a huge test for Bezzecchi’s mental resolve. As Martin is expected to join Yamaha in 2027, he will no doubt give it his all.
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