All four riders under Aprilia’s umbrella have a shot at winning the MotoGP title this year, but Davide Brivio isn’t entirely sure whether the Italian constructor will allow Trackhouse to fight them until the very end.
Despite Marc Marquez’s epic comeback in recent race weekends, the top two spots in the riders’ standings are still dominated by Aprilia’s prototypes. Factory rider Jorge Martin currently leads the grid, with Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura just 14 points behind.
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The Japanese rider has quietly been one of the most consistent riders this season. With just one Grand Prix victory to his name, his ability to always run a strong race has started to pay dividends as the championship landscape starts to take shape.
However, Ogura’s title charge could potentially be scuppered by a bout of team orders from Trackhouse’s factory suppliers. Aprilia have never won a MotoGP title, and could potentially pull rank in order to ensure the factory outfit makes history.
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Davide Brivio hopes Aprilia will emulate Ducati and allow Trackhouse to compete for the 2026 MotoGP title
In a recent interview with the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Trackhouse boss Davide Brivio was asked about whether or not Noale will utilise team orders to ensure that the factory team ends up claiming a historic first world championship feat.
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The Italian team-leading veteran remains unsure on how the rest of the title race will pan out for his team, replying, “Well, if it’s the two of us competing against someone else, I don’t know.”
He then went on to share his hopes that Aprilia’s top brass will emulate the same decision Ducati made during the 2024 title fight between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. In the end, the satellite star prevailed.
“I have to give credit to Ducati, to Gigi Dall’Igna, and to the whole team for what happened back then with Bagnaia and Martin in the sense that they were free to do so; I believe that’s still the case,” Brivio continued.
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“It’s a fine example that I hope will be repeated, but first of all it would be a dream to find ourselves in that situation. You’ve set a trap for me and I’ve fallen right into it!
“We often talk about it with Fabiano too; Fabiano also said he was very happy on Sunday at Assen. He tells me, ‘As long as an April bike wins, I’m happy, whatever colour it is,’ but let’s see.”
The next race could be crucial in Aprilia determining their plans for the remainder of the season. If Ogura manages to leapfrog Martin in the championship standings, they may have a difficult time in convincing Brivio to make his team play second fiddle to the factory riders.
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