Marco Bezzecchi
Giacomo Agostini is expecting a ‘great battle’ for the 2026 MotoGP championship, and he has named Francesco Bagnaia as a surprise contender.
Many would have been forgiven for saying that the 2026 title is Aprilia’s to lose after the opening races. The Noale outfit have won five of the first eight races, with Marco Bezzecchi leading teammate Jorge Martin by 20 points heading into Brno.
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But after Martin took out Bezzecchi and two other riders in Hungary, Aprilia have allowed Ducati to re-enter the title picture. Marc Marquez claimed his first win since Misano last year at Balaton Park.
Many now see Marquez as a championship contender, even though he is trying to downplay his expectations. But Agostini also backs his teammate Bagnaia to be in the picture.
Giacomo Agostini names Francesco Bagnaia among Marc Marquez and the Aprilias for the 2026 MotoGP title
The past 18 months have been rough for Bagnaia, with 2025 being a disastrous year on the GP25. Things have improved in 2026, with the Italian finishing third in the last three races.
But his pace has still been lagging behind the frontrunners, with Bezzecchi sitting 81 points ahead of him. Andrea Dovizioso says Bagnaia still cannot accept he is not the fastest Ducati, with Marquez now ahead of him in the standings despite missing two races through injury.
Pedro Acosta says Bagnaia has ‘no excuses’ for losing to Marquez at Ducati, as he was the number one rider in the team when he joined in 2025. Results are improving, but he is clearly struggling to keep up with the other Desmosedicis.
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But Agostini still surprisingly has faith in Bagnaia, despite the clear points and pace deficit to Bezzecchi and Martin.
Speaking to GPOne, the MotoGP legend thinks the two factory Ducati and Aprilia riders will play out a ‘great battle’ for the 2026 championship.
“Well, it looks set to be a great World Championship, one where they’ll be battling it out hard. Marquez seems to be getting back to his former form, so between him, Bezzecchi, Martin, Bagnaia, there’ll be – well, that’s what we are expecting.
“The crowd are expecting a great battle and a really entertaining show. So I reckon we’ll have a great show right through to the end of the season.”
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