Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola has declared that both Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin are “free to race until the math eliminates one of them” in a 2026 MotoGP title fight.
The Italian manufacturer has enjoyed a dominant start to the 2026 season, with Marco Bezzecchi winning all three grands prix run so far.
To boot, Bezzecchi’s victory streak now extends to five races from the end of last year, while he has led for a total of 121 consecutive grand prix laps, which is a new record in MotoGP.
Despite this, he is only four points clear at the top of the MotoGP standings, with Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin trailing him after his resurgence at the start of 2026.
Martin only contested seven rounds last season due to numerous injuries, while he also tried to exercise an exit clause in his Aprilia deal that was ultimately rejected.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
He missed the first pre-season test in 2026 due to off-season surgery, but was fourth in Thailand, second in Brazil and runner-up again in America after winning the sprint.
Now firmly being considered a championship challenger, Aprilia faces a headache it perhaps wasn’t expecting coming into the campaign.
The complicated factor in Aprilia managing its 2026 title-fighting duo
The intriguing thing about Martin’s form rebound into becoming a championship challenger again is that he is set to leave Aprilia.
Ahead of the new campaign, the 2024 world champion was reported as having signed a deal with Yamaha.
Bezzecchi, on the other hand, has signed a new multi-year deal to remain with Aprilia.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
In theory, if Martin is to leave Aprilia, then the door is left open for the team to back one rider over the other.
However, Massimo Rivola is adamant that his riders are free to race, so long as they maintain “respect” on track.
“No decisions have been made yet regarding the line-up,” he told Sky Italy.
“Both are free to race until the math eliminates one of them. The important thing is that there is respect on the track.
“And on this point, we are very clear.”
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Jorge Martin, Pramac Ducati, 2024 Malaysia MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
Aprilia has a good lesson to learn from Ducati
This isn’t the first time Martin has gone for a championship with a brand he is leaving at the end of the season.
Early into his 2024 title-winning campaign, he signed for Aprilia after Ducati made a U-turn on its decision to promote him to its factory team in favour of Marc Marquez.
Martin ultimately beat Pecco Bagnaia, who has re-signed with Ducati. Late in the season, Ducati tested a chassis that Bagnaia was very enthusiastic about.
However, Ducati elected against introducing it for the rest of the season as it couldn’t commit the resources to building enough to ensure parity for Bagnaia and Martin.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
While Ducati had to swallow the bitter pill of winning a championship with a rider not part of its factory team, and who it deemed was surplus to requirements, the history books still favour the Italian brand.
A title battle between Martin and Bezzecchi may get fiery for Aprilia, and likely harder to manage if it intensifies, but Ducati has already shown the example to follow to avoid any major fallouts.
Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter