Martin-Bezzecchi, No Room for Mistakes: Aprilia Responds, Including on Anti-Marquez Team Orders

Mandalika offers a great chance to respond to Márquez’s recent double at Motegi: the Noale team must not make any mistakes.

There are still six Grands Prix to contest, and the outcome of the 2026 MotoGP title race remains uncertain. At the moment, the two main contenders are Jorge Martin and Marc Márquez, separated by just 2 points, but Marco Bezzecchi is not ready to raise the white flag yet. He is 49 points behind the championship leader and knows that closing the gap to two riders such as his teammate and the Ducati rider will not be easy. However, the Indonesian Grand Prix is now upon us, and he will try to reduce the deficit.

At the last GP in Japan, Márquez completed a double, and Aprilia intends to react at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit, where the RS-GP had already proven to be highly competitive in 2025. Bezzecchi destroyed the opposition in qualifying, then won the Sprint and would probably have won the race as well if he had not caused an accident with Marc, who was seriously injured on that occasion. This year, he is dreaming of a different outcome.

Martin was fast in Indonesia with the Ducati of the Pramac team, but he was absent in 2025 due to injury and does not know exactly what to expect on the Aprilia: "This is a track where I feel confident - he told Sky Sport MotoGP - but I have also made mistakes: now it is important not to make them again. I don’t know how I will perform with Aprilia; we’ll see. It’s difficult to say what I can do better to battle Marc. I think I’m riding very well. During the season, we have made some unnecessary mistakes. I feel stronger in every race, and that gives me confidence that I can fight until the end. If we make mistakes and I crash, we lose our chances. I think that is the key."

Avoiding mistakes at this stage of the championship is essential. The championship leader also believes that adopting an intelligent approach is vital to overcoming a phenomenon like Márquez: "Marc has much more experience than us. I will try to give my best and if we are intelligent, we can fight with him. If we are not smart, it will be very difficult." Márquez is certainly not lacking intelligence; at Aprilia, they must try to match him and avoid giving him any gifts— they have already handed him a few during 2026.

Although he knows that he would need to accomplish something remarkable to fully re-enter the MotoGP title race, Bezzecchi still believes he can do it: "I hope so; that is the goal. It won’t be easy - he explained to Sky Sport MotoGP - because Jorge and Marc are in fantastic form. They are the best Jorge and the best Marc of the season. I will try to be the best Marco alongside them and fight. I need to take a small step forward, especially by being fast right from the start of the weekend, without having to play catch-up. Then, there are always things that can be improved in my riding."

The Romagna rider can certainly have regrets over the many points he has lost in this 2026 World Championship. If he is not in a better position in the standings, he can only blame himself, apart from the occasion when he was taken out by Martin in the main race at the Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary. He knows perfectly well that, to fight his way back, he will have to produce his best form and make no more mistakes.

The Noale team may also find itself having to choose which rider to back in the MotoGP title race, potentially opting for team orders in order to defeat Márquez. Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia Racing, expressed himself on the matter: "Marco and Jorge do not have Márquez’s experience, but they are both very fast, they are in good shape, and the mathematics means that either of them can still fight for the title. If one of them were to drop out of the title fight, then he would have to help the other."

It is not yet time to decide whom to favor, but it cannot be ruled out that the Indonesian Grand Prix could already prove to be something of a turning point in this regard. If Bezzecchi were to lose more points, the Aprilia garage might perhaps begin considering its approach to the final five Grands Prix of the 2026 calendar.

"In Testa": Jonathan Rea’s autobiography, by the six-time world champion and Superbike legend, is available on Amazon