Bezzecchi, Martin and Di Giannantonio: History Repeats Itself in MotoGP

The three riders occupying the top three positions in the 2026 MotoGP standings already have a distant precedent that saw them star in some great battles.

The Catalan Grand Prix weekend fell short of expectations for Marco Bezzecchi, who was unable to replicate the same level of performance shown in previous GPs. Despite it being his worst weekend of the 2026 season, he still managed to gain points on Jorge Martin, who arrived in Barcelona at -1 and left at -15 after two retirements and also an injury suffered in Monday’s test.

In a weekend where the factory Aprilia riders collected less than they had hoped, it was Fabio Di Giannantonio on the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati who scored the most points. Third in the sprint race and victorious in the main race. He felt he could win on Saturday as well, but a poor start ruined his plans. The results in Catalunya allowed him to consolidate third place in the overall MotoGP standings, moving to -26 from Bezzecchi.

It is not the first time that Bezzecchi, Martin, and Di Giannantonio have occupied the top three positions in the standings and been the three main contenders for the world title. It already happened in 2018, when they raced in the Moto3 class.

The Spaniard came out on top, becoming world champion with the Honda of the Del Conca Gresini team: 7 wins, 3 other podiums, and as many as 11 pole positions. Victory in the penultimate race at Sepang clinched the world crown for him. With KTM, Bezzecchi (3 wins and 6 other podiums in 2018) had closed to within one point of Martin with his triumph at Motegi in the fourth-to-last grand prix, but then suffered a major dip in the final three races: a DNF at Phillip Island, fifth at Sepang, and twentieth at Valencia. It was precisely in Valencia that the then Redox PrüstelGP rider was overtaken for second place in the standings by Di Giannantonio (2 wins and 4 other podiums), Martinator’s teammate.

Today the Rimini native and the Madrilenian are teammates, while the Roman races for the team of the legendary Valentino Rossi. We’ll see how things go in this 2026 MotoGP championship; it’s not certain that other riders won’t insert themselves into the title fight—there are still many grands prix to go and anything can happen. Something will also happen in 2027, when two of them will change colors: Martin will go to the factory Yamaha team, while Di Giannantonio to KTM. Bezzecchi will remain with Aprilia, the only official announcement made in these months of the market, with no further announcements due to the lack of an agreement between the manufacturers and MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group on the 2027–2031 contract.

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