Marco Bezzecchi
Luca Cadalora admires the Aprilia RS-GP’s “smoothness” while braking in the corners, which he saw “less and less” from the Ducati GP26 over the first three rounds of 2026.
Aprilia have started the 2026 MotoGP season as the team to beat, which Ducati had initially hoped was owing to the harder tyre carcass that Michelin offered in Thailand and Brazil. The United States Grand Prix, however, proved that the RS-GP is the best bike on the grid so far.
Ducati chiefs Luigi Dall’Igna and Davide Tardozzi thought the Aprilia RS-GP was overhyped in Buriram and Goiania, as their Italian rival’s bike was better suited to Michelin’s heat-treated rear tyre. Yet a return to normal tyres at COTA showed the Desmosedici GP26 is just lacking.
Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi continued his record-breaking start to the season in Texas, as the initial championship leader maintained his run of leading every lap of every Grand Prix. VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio was the top Ducati at COTA in P4, 6.972s shy of Bezzecchi.
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Luca Cadalora sees the Aprilia RS-GP’s smoothness under braking ‘less and less’ with the Ducati GP26
Aprilia even took a one-two finish at COTA, as Bezzecchi beat Jorge Martin to win the United States GP. Also, Martin won the Sprint at COTA and Trackhouse pilot Ai Ogura looked to have the pace on his RS-GP for a podium in the United States GP, but retired with an engine issue.
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Cadalora believes the smoothness of the Aprilia RS-GP under braking is one of its best traits, and one that Ducati had enjoyed themselves in previous years. The GP26 has not seemed as easy to manage as the RS-GP so far in 2026, which has caused their riders to struggle more.
“It seems to me like a motorcycle that does not flow,” Cadalora explained to Moto.it. “When you release the brake, it loses speed and has no smoothness.
“There are bikes that, when you lean them over, you do not get the sensation of braking but of smoothness, something I see in the Aprilia and which the Yamaha M1 always had until I got to know it and even after. It is something I’ve seen less and less in the Ducati since ‘25.
“Let me try to explain. There are bikes that turn when you see the corner and others that don’t. You have to fight against them, because they want to go straight. You force them to turn, and those are the bikes I’ve never liked.”
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Ducati privately accept that Aprilia’s bike brakes and corners better than the GP26 after the first three rounds of the season. The Borgo Panigale natives noticed their rivals from Noale had made strides at the end of 2025, which Aprilia have only improved at the start of 2026.
Now, Bezzecchi leads Martin atop the riders’ standings by just four points at the April break with a 31-point margin over Di Giannantonio as the highest-placed Ducati rider. Factory ace Marc Marquez is the second-best Ducati after three races, but trails Bezzecchi by 36 points.
Part of the problem for Ducati has also been Marquez’s ongoing recovery from his shoulder injury, which required surgery back in October. The reigning champion has not been able to ride the GP26 as naturally as he would like, which further limits what he is able to achieve.
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