{"id":514373,"date":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514373\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","slug":"did-thai-gp-show-motogps-new-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514373\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Thai GP show MotoGP’s new order?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally, Aprilia<\/a> has caught Ducati<\/a>, dominating last weekend\u2019s season-opening Thai MotoGP round like Ducati has dominated the championship\u2019s last half-decade or so.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no great surprise that it\u2019s taken so long. Aprilia started making motorcycles in the late 1960s, two decades after Ducati. It contested its first grands prix in the 1980s, three decades after Ducati. And while Ducati scored its first premier-class MotoGP podium in 1972, with a 500cc v-twin four-stroke, Aprilia didn\u2019t make the top three until 1999, with a 500cc v-twin two-stroke.<\/p>\n

You would think that these two grandees of Italian motorcycle racing would enjoy each other\u2019s success, wouldn\u2019t you? Italian brothers in arms and all that. But it\u2019s not like that. There is some real animosity between the bosses in Bologna and in Noale.<\/p>\n

Why? First, it\u2019s the usual hometown hero, derby thing, like Arsenal versus Tottenham, Manchester United versus Man City, AC Milan versus Inter Milan and Juventus versus Turin.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same in MotoGP. You\u2019d think that riders from the same country would get on, wouldn\u2019t you? Again, it\u2019s quite often the opposite, because they\u2019re treading on each other\u2019s feet, fighting each other in the national media and competing for the affections of the home fans. Think, Wayne Rainey<\/a> and Kevin Schwantz<\/a>, Mick Doohan<\/a> and Wayne Gardner<\/a>, Jorge Lorenzo<\/a> and Dani Pedrosa<\/a> and many more.<\/p>\n

There are also more concrete reasons for the enmity between Bologna and Noale, though specifically, it\u2019s more about carbon-fibre than concrete.<\/p>\n

During the 2019 Qatar Grand Prix, Aprilia (along with Honda<\/a>, Suzuki and KTM<\/a>) protested against Ducati\u2019s new swingarm aero. They complained that the primary purpose of the wing below the swingarm was to provide downforce. Ducati insisted the wing\u2019s main job was to cool the rear tyre. The protest was thrown out.<\/p>\n

Last winter, MotoGP came close to banning Aprilia\u2019s so-called leg wings. No manufacturer was named in this case, but those in the know tell me that Ducati was the prime mover. The RS-GP\u2019s leg wings \u2013 which increase rear downforce during braking \u2013 were copied last year by Honda and are now used by KTM as well.<\/p>\n

\"Fernandez<\/p>\n

Fernandez leads Martin and Acosta \u2013 the Phillip Island 2025 might have been even faster but for his Portimao 2025 shoulder injury<\/p>\n

\n Michelin\n <\/p>\n

All this adds an extra buzz to the duel for MotoGP supremacy between Bologna and Noale, which has been bubbling under for the last year or two.<\/p>\n

First blood at Buriram<\/a> went to Aprilia. Never before has it had four bikes in the top five \u2013 Marco Bezzecchi in first, Raul Fernandez third, Jorge Martin fourth and Ai Ogura fifth. And not since the 2021 British GP has Ducati not had a single rider on the podium.<\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t signal a shift in MotoGP\u2019s world order, because Aprilia also won three of the last four races of 2025 \u2013 Valencia, Portimao<\/a> and Phillip Island<\/a> \u2013 so the RS-GP was already as good if not better than Ducati\u2019s Desmosedici six months ago. And it was already a better bike \u2013 on its day \u2013 a year or so ago. What these recent results tell us it that Aprilia is getting better and better at extracting the bike\u2019s full performance every weekend, not just now and again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Ducati are struggling,\u201d said Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola at Buriram. \u201cI think Aprilia did something special here.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Aprilia get here?<\/p>\n

The crucial changes came in 2019, when Aprilia developed its first 90-degree V4 MotoGP bike (same configuration as the Ducati) and hired Ferrari<\/a> Formula 1 staffer Massimo Rivola. These were the technical and human changes that began shifting the RS-GP from mid-pack hopeful to championship contender.<\/p>\n

The current-configuration RS-GP scored its first podium in 2021 and Aprilia\u2019s first MotoGP victory the following year. Since then, progress has been step by step, with incremental improvements throughout, especially in electronics strategies and most obviously in aerodynamics, where the Noale aero department has seized the initiative from Ducati.<\/p>\n

To name but two, Aprilia aero innovations: In 2022 it created the first ground-effect downforce fairing and this year it has another F1-inspired aero feature, which allows riders to choose between increased cooling and decreased drag by using their forearms to block fairing ducts.<\/p>\n

\"Pedro<\/p>\n

Acosta and KTM made history at Buriram<\/p>\n

\n KTM\n <\/p>\n

The RS-GP\u2019s biggest strong points have always been turning and corner speed. These seem to be part of Aprilia\u2019s DNA, learned during its time as 250cc dominators with the RS250 two-stroke. I once asked an Aprilia engineer how it can consistently create so much corner speed. He wouldn\u2019t talk details but told me the secret is something to do with the way they engineer steering heads.<\/p>\n

At Buriram, Sunday winner Marco Bezzecchi was visibly faster through the corners and, even more importantly, he could summon all that speed without using too much racetrack, because the bike turns so well. This is a huge advantage, because if you can make the motorcycle turn fast at the apex, you can get it pointed out of the corner sooner, which means you can lift the bike onto the fatter part of the rear tyre and use more throttle sooner.<\/p>\n

This is the virtuous circle that all MotoGP engineers spend their lives chasing.<\/p>\n

The big difference now is that Aprilia has got the rest of the RS-GP sorted as well, without compromising its biggest strengths.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Ducati\u2019s Desmosedici has never had great turning or corner speed. Those factors were always the bike\u2019s weaknesses, until Gigi Dall\u2019Igna managed to minimise them while also maximising the bike\u2019s strongest points \u2013 entry and exit.<\/p>\n

Will Ducati be back, or will it have to get used to being beaten by its Noale nemesis?<\/p>\n

Of course it will be. Buriram was particularly complicated for it because it\u2019s one of three MotoGP circuits where Michelin specifies its stiff rear tyre, designed to withstand the massive head buildup experienced during acceleration at Buriram, Red Bull Ring and Mandalika<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This tyre both hurts Ducati and helps Aprilia. Its stiffer casing reduces squish and therefore footprint, so there\u2019s less rear grip in entry and exit. It has less effect on edge grip.<\/p>\n

\u201c[With this tyre] we cannot brake late and hard, which is normally our strong point, then we can\u2019t use our drive in acceleration,\u201d Ducati\u2019s Marc M\u00e1rquez<\/a> told me at Mandalika last October. \u201cYou need to flow a lot, which is the weak point of our bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez was fast but not comfortable<\/p>\n

\n Ducati\n <\/p>\n

And will M\u00e1rquez be back? Of course, he will. The 33-year-old is still in a lot of trouble with the right shoulder he damaged when he got taken out at Mandalika last year. That shoulder has had numerous surgeries over the years, so each intervention takes longer to heal than the last. At the end of 2018, he had the shoulder completely rebuilt, following multiple injuries and dislocations. The muscles around the joint were so weakened that when M\u00e1rquez was knocked out for surgery, his humerus popped out of its socket the moment he lost consciousness.<\/p>\n

At Buriram, it was obvious that he was riding conservatively to avoid playing with the limit, because he doesn\u2019t yet have the strength to save a slide. And yet he nearly won the sprint and was hopeful of third or fourth place on Sunday, until he ran wide (to avoid having to save a slide), ran over the kerb and buckled his rear wheel rim. M\u00e1rquez says it won\u2019t be until the Spanish GP at the end of April that he will have a real idea of his strength.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bezzecchi will make hay while the sun shines. Some people are surprised by the 27-year-old\u2019s speed, but he\u2019s always had something special inside. VR46<\/a> signed Bezzecchi when he won the 2015 Italian Moto3 title in 2015. World-class victories followed in Moto3 and Moto2, then an impressive though under-the-radar rookie MotoGP season in 2022 \u2013 fifth at Mugello<\/a>, fourth at Phillip Island \u2013 and his first wins the following year.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a delight to watch on the RS-GP \u2013 glass smooth, riding the bike exactly the way it wants to be ridden. And although he may come across as a bit of a Jack the Lad, he\u2019s highly intelligent and knows how to work with his engineers in the garage.<\/p>\n

\"Thai<\/p>\n

MotoGP 2026 is go!<\/p>\n

\n Michelin\n <\/p>\n

This year, Bezzecchi is a championship challenger for the first time and that brings new stresses and pressures. Three crashes on Saturday at Buriram were not the stuff of a title contender \u2013 his sprint fall cost him what should\u2019ve been an easy nine points \u2013 but his inch-perfect Sunday suggests he learned from those mistakes and didn\u2019t let them scare him into rolling the throttle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have to give Marco any shit [for the sprint crash] because he gave himself enough shit,\u201d said Rivola.<\/p>\n

If there is aggro between Aprilia and Ducati, there seems to be less than there was between Bezzecchi and M\u00e1rquez, who right now stand out as the main men for the riders\u2019 title.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, when they collided at Valencia 2023, Bezzecchi made no secret of the fact that he really didn\u2019t like M\u00e1rquez.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very, very dirty, but they don\u2019t even show the replay,\u201d said Bezzecchi, who fell, while M\u00e1rquez didn\u2019t. \u201cNobody does anything to him, because it\u2019s M\u00e1rquez and he\u2019s the dirtiest rider.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finally, Aprilia has caught Ducati, dominating last weekend\u2019s season-opening Thai MotoGP round like Ducati has dominated the championship\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[257295,64,63,5745,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-514373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-2026-thai-gp","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motogp","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}