Aprilia clings to Bezzecchi: what's happening to Jorge Martin?

The championship leader is not at the level of his teammate at MotorLand: the Warm Up will be crucial to try to raise the bar ahead of the race.

Aragon has never been the best track for Aprilia—just look at the historical results—but in 2026 the bike has improved a lot and the Noale team expects to achieve good results. Marco Bezzecchi managed to take pole position with a record time and then finished third in the sprint race, beaten only by the Marquez brothers’ Ducatis, who smartly got past him after the start. Jorge Martin, on the other hand, did not go beyond fifth at the finish.

474 thousandths behind Bezzecchi in Qualifying, while in the Sprint the two Aprilia riders were separated by about 4 seconds. Ahead of Martinator was also Pedro Acosta’s KTM, with whom he fought hard before having to yield. He remains leader of the standings with +29 over Bez and will still be after the long race, but for Sunday his hope is to be a bit more competitive.

The 2024 MotoGP champion was among those who used the soft rear tire, but he has no particular regrets about this decision: "I think the medium worked a bit better," reports Motosan, "but we didn’t have much choice other than to go with the soft, because I hadn’t tried the medium. The truth is I don’t think I could have done much more. I think we had a great race. At the beginning, especially, I was quite fast. I managed to get very close to the leaders, whereas all weekend I had been far behind. I think on Sunday with the medium tires I can take another small step forward."

Martin fought hard in the opening laps with Fernandez and Acosta, but he doesn’t believe he could have achieved a better result if he hadn’t lost time with his two compatriots: "No, fifth place was the maximum. I’m having a lot of trouble with the front end and we’re working on it. Fifth is even better than I expected. In the race I hope to improve this position, of course, but in the end the important thing is to get the most out of it. It’s a weekend where I’m struggling; it’s about minimizing the losses and thinking about the next race."

With the medium rear tire the Aprilia RS-GP26 has often performed well, and the Madrid rider hopes to be more competitive in the long race. He’s aware of what isn’t working and the Noale team has set to work to help him. The 10 minutes of Warm Up will be useful to try some different solutions compared to the Sprint.

In Martin’s garage they will also try to make use of Bezzecchi’s data—the only one who seems capable of troubling the Marquez-Ducati duo—to try to take a step forward: "Marco is making the difference," comments the 2024 MotoGP champion. "In every free practice session he’s given me half a second. It’s true that in the sprint the gap wasn’t huge, but we need to see exactly where he’s still more competitive. I’m gradually closing the gap and I hope to reduce it further."

Finishing fourth or fifth is better than crashing and retiring; the Spaniard won’t take risks if his potential isn’t podium-worthy in the Aragon race. If he has to ride a bit defensively, he will, getting the maximum possible and then looking to bounce back at the next tracks. He has already fought for the world title and knows well that sometimes it’s necessary to settle, avoiding mistakes that can cost points that prove decisive at the end of the championship.