Marco Bezzecchi
Aprilia have been warned against favouring Marco Bezzecchi over Jorge Martin in the 2026 MotoGP title race, with Mat Oxley pointing out how it could potentially ‘tarnish the brand’ for decades.
MotoGP fans are in store for the first intra-team title fight since Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi’s tension-filled battle at the end of the 2015 campaign.
Due to the ambitions that both Lorenzo and Rossi shared at Yamaha, toxicity was rife within the Yamaha hospitality building inside the MotoGP paddock as neither rider wanted to give their rival an inch in the championship.
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There have been very few cases of a team outright favouring one of their riders, however. Many believed Ducati were employing similar tactics for Marc Marquez during his 2025 title-winning campaign, but the claims were later debunked by several figures within the squad.
With Jorge Martin on his way out of Aprilia at the end of the term, it has been suggested that Aprilia may favour current championship leader Marco Bezzecchi due to him being signed up at Noale for the foreseeable future.
However, MotoGP journalist and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley has some words of warning for the Italian constructor, noting how any hint of favour towards one of their riders could mark them for years to come.
Mat Oxley warns Aprilia against favouring Marco Bezzecchi in 2026 title fight
During an appearance on the Motorsport Republica podcast, Oxley was asked for his thoughts on Aprilia potentially prioritising Bezzecchi’s results this year due to the fact he will remain as a rider for the Noale-based factory next year.
“Aprilia are very into the fact that they’re Italian, and they like to make jokes about Ducati being German,” Oxley began in a joking manner, before adding, “I always tend to think of those as a bit of a conspiracy theory.
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“I’m not sure that Rivola would sit there and go, ‘We’re gonna turn up Jorge Martin’s TC or something’, you know, do something. But I don’t know, the chances of somebody finding out – that’s just going to be the worst thing ever.
“I mean, you go racing, and when I’ve been in trouble with factories and stuff, they shout at me, ‘We go racing to make ourselves look good, and you’re making us look like idiots’ or whatever.”
After detailing how MotoGP teams simply don’t want the bad press of their behind-the-scenes actions making its way into the ears of fans, Oxley sent out a stern warning to Aprilia.
He said, “If you were to favour one rider over the other in a bad way, that’s a story that’s going to haunt you for years and decades. It’s going to really tarnish the brand. It’s a big risk. I like to think that most of those things are generally conspiracy theories.”
- READ MORE: Massimo Rivola pinpoints exactly where ’sensitive’ Marco Bezzecchi still needs to improve
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