Massimo Rivola on the ugly scenes in Goiania: "Unacceptable, we were lucky

Aprilia is experiencing one of the finest moments in its MotoGP history, but in the Noale garage they don’t want to hear talk of a world title. The one-two by Bezzecchi and Martin in Goiânia has certainly brought enthusiasm to the environment led by Massimo Rivola, but the championship is still long and you can never let your guard down against Marc Marquez.

Ducati’s overwhelming dominance, with the riders’ and constructors’ titles, began in 2022 with Pecco Bagnaia’s triumph, repeated the following year. Then Jorge Martin kept the triumphant red streak going with the Pramac team’s Desmosedici, before moving on to Yamaha. Finally, in 2025 Marc Marquez gave Borgo Panigale a fourth consecutive world title on his debut with the factory team. Now the Cervera phenomenon wants to aim for the tenth world crown of his career, but he will have to reckon with more rivals. Starting with a Marco Bezzecchi in splendid physical and mental form, and equipped with a technical package up to the task.

The Romagna rider from the VR46 Academy has won the last four MotoGP Grands Prix: Portugal and Valencia at the end of 2025, Thailand and Brazil at the start of 2026. Teammate Jorge Martin returned to the podium in Goiânia, highlighting the excellent form of the Aprilia RS-GP. The ingredients to dream big all seem to be there, but Aprilia Racing’s general manager, Massimo Rivola, still doesn’t feel like the favorite. "Two race weekends don’t change Aprilia’s situation. They changed the standings, but there are still 40 races to go and everything can change."

The Italian engineer foresees that the road could get tougher in the upcoming MotoGP rounds, starting with the imminent commitment in Texas. "Next Sunday we’ll go to one of the many circuits around the world that is Marc’s home track. We’re not used to being in the lead, so we’ll see," Rivola continued. "The best way to handle it is to be humble and work the way we know how."

With four bikes and four fast riders, the step up in quality is becoming more substantial. Aprilia is starting to replicate the model that has made Ducati strong in recent years: competitive prototypes available to riders capable of getting the most out of them. The progress is evident session by session, but credit also goes to the technicians who work tirelessly in pursuit of the great world title dream. "If you stay late some evenings, you’ll see the cars parked and people going to bed later than the others, and that pays off."

Not everything went smoothly over the Goiânia weekend. Massimo Rivola criticized the handling of the start, an aspect that caused confusion on the grid. "It’s unacceptable to find out what’s happening when you’re about to start," complained the CEO. While acknowledging that all the teams were in the same situation, he did not want to downplay the incident. Brazil witnessed a genuine Grand Prix of chaos. "It worked out for us, but we need to think it through carefully... I don’t want to talk about it through the press, because I think the issue should be addressed in an appropriate meeting."