Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia is set to join Aprilia in 2027, but he looks set to face a huge challenge to oust Marco Bezzecchi as their main man after Paolo Bonora’s declaration.
It is an open secret in the MotoGP paddock that Aprilia have taken advantage of their Italian rivals Ducati opting to replace Bagnaia at the end of 2026 with KTM’s Pedro Acosta. Bagnaia is out of contract for Ducati this season and Aprilia required a replacement for Jorge Martin.
Ducati chose against offering Bagnaia a new contract due to his miserable finish to the 2025 campaign. Yet it is said that Aprilia will sign Bagnaia on a four-year contract, which has break clauses for after 2028, to form an all-Italian team with Bezzecchi when Martin joins Yamaha.
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Paolo Bonora thinks Marco Bezzecchi is the ‘perfect image’ of the MotoGP championship
Bagnaia looks set to join a squad very much behind Bezzecchi when he moves from Bologna to Noale next year, though. Aprilia team manager Bonora believes Bezzecchi is now showing himself to be not only the 2026 championship leader but the new face of MotoGP this year.
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Bonora has hailed Bezzecchi as the “spirit” and the “perfect image” of MotoGP after the 27-year-old took his fourth win of the season at Mugello. Bezzecchi winning the Italian GP even marked Aprilia’s first home victory and put him 17 points clear of Martin atop the standings.
“Marco Bezzecchi is the spirit and the perfect image of this championship,” Bonora told AS. “He’s also a historic figure for fans at Mugello, numbers never seen before here, and Italians are rediscovering their love for motorcycling – and Marco Bezzecchi is part of this process.”
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Mugello recorded a new all-time attendance record across the 2026 Italian GP weekend, as 166,074 fans flooded the rolling Tuscan hills last week. Those in attendance saw Bezzecchi win the Italian GP in an Aprilia one-two with Martin, while Bagnaia finished in third place.
It marked a big change from recent years, as Mugello had been Ducati’s territory after taking four wins over the previous four Italian GPs – including three consecutive wins for Bagnaia in 2022, 2023 and 2024. But Bonora seems to suggest that Bezzecchi, instead of Bagnaia, has the backing of the Italian fans and is proving himself to be the latest face of MotoGP in Italy.
Now, Bonora may just be hyping up his rider after Bezzecchi scored his first victory on home soil and Aprilia’s maiden Italian GP win. But Bonora’s comments show the challenge awaiting Bagnaia when he moves to Aprilia next year and has to turn the Noale natives into his team.
Additionally, Bonora’s suggestion that Bezzecchi has helped to fuel the revival of MotoGP in the hearts of the Italian fans follows claims made by Andrea Dovizioso that Bagnaia has less fans as the 2022 and 2023 champion is not an “explosive talent” with a personality fans like.
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