Marco Bezzecchi
Pablo Nieto still has confidence in Marc Marquez closing the gap to Marco Bezzecchi in the 2026 MotoGP title race.
Despite winning the world championship last season, Marc Marquez has not started the season on the strongest note this year.
The Ducati rider finds himself 36 points behind Marco Bezzecchi, as Aprilia have been dominant to start 2026.
Have Ducati been too reliant on Marc Marquez to develop their bike?
Marquez looked worried at the United States Grand Prix, partly due to the injuries he sustained during his FP1 crash. And it led to another poor performance during the race.
Despite Marquez’s injury issues seemingly limiting Ducati, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto believes the nine-time world champion is still the favourite to win the title.
READ MORE: Ricard Jove thinks Marc Marquez would be ‘smart’ to make Ducati accept his 2027 contract demand
Pablo Nieto claims Marc Marquez is still the ‘favourite’ to beat Marco Bezzecchi in MotoGP title race
VR46 team manager spoke in an interview with Diario Sport, where he discussed the title fight between Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi.
Despite Bezzecchi taking a strong lead in the title race, Nieto believes that Marquez’s talent, legacy, and pedigree make him the favourite in the title race.
“Marc is Marc. Obviously, I think he’s still the favourite. I still consider him the favourite because, even though he doesn’t have the number one on his fairing, he’s the world champion.
“He’s the one who really made the difference last year, we know he’s coming back from an injury, and he’s the rider to beat.
“Although Bezzecchi is in fantastic form right now and he’s having a great season with Aprilia, I still think Marc Márquez is the rider to beat.”
READ MORE: Mick Doohan shares why Marc Marquez will find it ‘difficult’ with Pedro Acosta as Ducati teammate
Pablo Nieto says Aprilia don’t have significant advantage over Ducati despite strong start
Speaking further in the interview, Nieto claimed that Aprilia has done a good job with their bike this year, but he warned against counting out Ducati just yet.
“Aprilia has been a step ahead in the first three races. I think it’s more about the overall package. Both Marco (Bezzecchi) and Martín are in great form.
“I’ve seen Marco especially since last year, when he also won the last two races; he’s starting to feel really comfortable with the bike.
“Aprilia has worked very well; aerodynamically, they’re constantly doing different things, and it seems to be working, but I don’t think they’re that much ahead of Ducati at the moment.
“Now we’re going back to Jerez, where it’s always been said that the championship starts in Europe. Although I don’t entirely agree with that, it’s true that we start in Europe, and after four or five races, you start to see what the general direction of the championship will be.”
Ducati will look to try and bounce back at the Spanish Grand Prix, as Marc Marquez looks to win his home race.
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