High tension at Aprilia: Rivola confronts Brivio, Martin shoves Bonora then regrets it

The Spanish rider was furious when he returned to the garage at the end of the race in Barcelona and went overboard with his race manager: apologies were not lacking for the excessive outburst.

It wasn’t a great weekend for Aprilia at the 2026 Catalan Grand Prix. The RS-GP26 wasn’t as dominant as it was at Le Mans, where it had locked out all the steps of the podium. Today Marco Bezzecchi’s fourth place finish was worth its weight in gold, coming in a race that saw three different starts due to two terrifying crashes with red flags. At the third start there was a fall for Jorge Martin, taken out by Raul Fernandez at Turn 4 on the opening lap. A surprising episode, given they are two riders of the same brand. Although the responsibility of the Trackhouse rider seemed evident, there was no penalty for the move on his compatriot. Both rejoined after ending up in the gravel, but Martinator returned to the garage and his colleague finished outside the points.

Right after the incident, Massimo Rivola showed up in front of the Trackhouse garage to express his displeasure to team principal Davide Brivio, who didn’t have much to say in reply. It’s certainly a bit strange to see the CEO of Aprilia Racing so “overtly” airing his frustration with their satellite team, but what truly impressed was Martin’s reaction upon returning to his box. He was furious about what happened; Rivola and Paolo Bonora tried to calm him down, but the Spanish rider was so on edge that at one point he even pushed Bonora. Not a pleasant scene to witness.

Martinator spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP and commented on what happened today, starting with the crashes and then apologizing for his behavior toward Bonora, Aprilia’s race manager: "Today my story is completely secondary. The first important thing is knowing that Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco are okay, because their crashes were nasty. Then I’m very sorry for how I came back to the garage, I especially want to apologize to Paolo, because I pushed him and it made no sense. In that moment I was very heated, I’m sorry and I feel really bad about it."

The crash caused by Fernandez took away his chance to aim for a great result. Martin is convinced he could have fought for victory in the full race: "I kept getting better starts: in the first start I was fourth, then third, and then second. I was ready to fight for the win on a tricky weekend. Anyway, I’ll take the positives and move on. I don’t want to comment on the incident, there’s no point; you can see it clearly on TV. We’re strong, that’s what matters, we’ll come back. I’m calm, I have the speed and I have the grit, never fear."

With today’s zero and Marco Bezzecchi’s fourth place, the Spanish rider now finds himself 15 points behind his teammate in the overall standings. Aprilia’s factory duo remains favorite for the title, but they absolutely cannot relax. There are still many races to go.