Aprilia can’t afford to give Marquez any more gifts: Bezzecchi "condemned" not to make mistakes

The retirement in his home GP was painful, but it’s time to look ahead and try to bounce back: Bez’s goal in Austria is very clear.

He was the big favorite to win the MotoGP race at Misano and got off to a flying start, but Marco Bezzecchi crashed on the very first lap, throwing the door wide open for Marc Marquez’s victory. Unfortunately for him and for Aprilia, that wasn’t the first mistake made in the 2026 championship.

Between the sprint race and the long races, the rider from Rimini has racked up ten zeros, with his season tally including a suspension that prevented him from running the long race at Brno and an injury that made him miss both manches at the Sachsenring. It’s also worth recalling that in the race at Balaton Park he was taken out by his teammate Jorge Martin.

For Marquez, instead, the zeros are seven: three due to an injury. After having to miss the Catalunya GP, he hasn’t recorded a single retirement since. In situations where he didn’t feel competitive enough he preferred to settle for points rather than crash, and when he was strong he made no mistakes, further confirming that he’s the best at managing different phases.

In the overall MotoGP standings the leader is the Ducati rider, who has the same points (274) as Martin (four zeros in 2026). Bezzecchi is third at -33, with Fabio Di Giannantonio 18 points behind. The world title fight is wide open, but we’ve reached a point in the season where the margin for error is increasingly narrow, especially for those chasing.

This weekend MotoGP heads to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, an event Aprilia has never won. The best result in a long race came from Bezzecchi himself in 2025, when he climbed onto the third step of the podium after finishing fourth in the sprint race. On Saturday, the best result is Aleix Espargaro’s third place in 2024.

The RS-GP improved massively last year and took another step in 2026, so the expectation of seeing Bezzecchi and Martin competitive at Spielberg is more than justified. It’s true that the Red Bull Ring has been something of a Ducati stronghold over the years, but never like in 2026 has there been a real chance for Aprilia to leave the Austrian GP in triumph.

Obviously, avoiding mistakes becomes crucial. Bezzecchi has already accumulated too many missteps, while Martin might run a bit on the defensive due to the compartment syndrome issue that affected him in the Misano race and could influence him this weekend too. The Noale team has the potential to respond, but it can no longer afford to hand out gifts to Marquez and Ducati.