Aprilia expressed ‘quiet fury’ behind the scenes after Alex Marquez’s visor tear-off incident

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Marco Bezzecchi had a mixed weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix as the Aprilia rider retired from the Sprint after Alex Marquez’s visor tear-off got caught in his bike.

The Italian came into the weekend after winning the previous five races, leading every lap in the process. Aprilia had never won the Spanish Grand Prix before, and that streak continued in 2026 as Bezzecchi finished P2.

It marked a great comeback for the championship leader after he suffered his third retirement from four Sprint races. Bezzecchi crashed in the changing weather conditions after a poor start from P4 on the grid.

It was later discovered that Gresini rider Alex Marquez had removed a tear from his visor on his way to the grid, which got stuck in Bezzecchi’s bike. It caused a dramatic wheel spin and dropped him back multiple positions.

Aprilia were privately furious over Alex Marquez’s visor tear-off costing Marco Bezzecchi at Spanish Grand Prix

MotoGP fans called for a ‘tear-off ban’ after seeing Marquez cost Bezzecchi at the start of the Sprint. Aprilia were equally furious behind the scenes after the race.

Journalist David Emmett described the incident via the Paddock Pass Podcast: “It was a bit of a lottery yesterday in the Sprint race because of the weather and also just bad luck.

“Marco Bezzecchi having a tear-off fly up into his aero. I mean, I think Alex Marquez discarded it in the last corner, so it was a relatively safe place to discard it, but it flew up, got stuck in Marco Bezzecchi’s aero, then it dropped in front of his front wheel.

“And then as he was wheeling his front wheel around, that sort of moved it back under his rear wheel, and so it had massive wheel spin off the front.”

Colleague Neil Morrison then shared Aprilia’s private thoughts after the race: “And I was told behind the scenes, that did not go down well.

“That was kind of shrugged off in public as if, ‘Oh, the sort of bad luck’, but I think behind the scenes, there was some quiet fury that the thing had been removed at that point.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marco Bezzecchi from net worth to race number

Are Ducati back after beating Aprilia at the Spanish Grand Prix?

Bezzecchi maintains his lead in the standings by 11 points over Jorge Martin after finishing second in Sunday’s race. Bezzecchi praised Alex Marquez for his pace in the Grand Prix as he clinched Ducati’s first win of the season.

The Gresini rider was untouchable at Jerez, finally seeming comfortable on the GP26 after struggling in the opening race. He was so quick that Pecco Bagnaia told Ducati to ‘copy’ Marquez as he could not find the right balance with the bike.

Marquez’s pace has left people wondering if Ducati are back on top of their game in MotoGP after he got the better of Aprilia. The Borgo Panigale outfit will be looking to build upon the victory, especially with the Jerez test on Monday.

Ducati and Aprilia are both testing wild components at the circuit as they look to get the upper hand. For now, Bezzecchi and Aprilia remain on top, but Ducati could certainly pose a serious threat.