From making history at Le Mans to a blackout in Catalunya: Aprilia lacking bite and making too many mistakes

In a few days, a complete upheaval at Aprilia. Lots of crashes and problems in every session at Montmeló. Will redemption come in Sunday’s GP?

Aprilia and Montmeló, there doesn’t seem to be any love so far—and it’s not just about one rider. Even though Jorge Martin has already racked up four crashes (fortunately without consequences), the latest at Turn 10 on lap 3 of today’s MotoGP Sprint, resulting in his second zero of the season in the Saturday sprint. Raul Fernandez was the best, 4th but soon far from the podium zone, while Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi finished 8th and 9th, on the edge of the points. Expectations were certainly very different after having made history just a few days ago at Le Mans... There’s still Sunday with the long race of the Catalan GP, but Aprilia hasn’t scratched so far—indeed, remember that in qualifying both of the guys at the top of the MotoGP standings crashed! Something is missing.

An example comes from Bezzecchi’s words, as mentioned, 9th in today’s race. “I never felt good, I gained a few positions at the start but then I lost them,” he told Sky Sport MotoGP. That sums up what we’ve been seeing since yesterday, and Jorge Martin seems to be living the exact same situation: yesterday he spoke of “not a great feeling,” and today it appears to be the same story, given that his Sprint lasted just three laps before he ended up in the gravel...

A rather bitter ending for the two riders leading the overall standings. As for Trackhouse, in addition to the announcement of Davide Brivio’s departure at the end of 2026, the situation wasn’t easy. Ai Ogura, fresh off his first MotoGP podium, didn’t shine, while Raul Fernandez, as mentioned, finished just off the podium, even if we’re talking about a gap of around two seconds. Not what was expected after what we saw in the early GPs. We’ll see what happens on GP Sunday—will Aprilia lift its head again?

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