Aprilia has set its sights on challenging Ducati’s dominance in MotoGP, with motorsport chief Massimo Rivola stating that contending for the 2026 title must be its main objective.
Aprilia was the only manufacturer to stop Ducati from scoring a clean sweep of victories in 2024, and it has stepped up its performance this year to become a more consistent front-runner.
In Australia, it dominated the weekend from start to finish, with Raul Fernandez scoring a memorable maiden win for Trackhouse and factory rider Marco Bezzecchi finishing third despite serving a double long lap penalty.
The RS-GP was also the benchmark at the previous round in Indonesia, with Bezzecchi claiming pole by four tenths and leading an Aprilia 1-2 in the sprint race.
Not since the 2022 season has Ducati faced such sustained opposition to its hegemony in MotoGP, with Aprilia already claiming two grand prix victories and three sprint race wins this year.
Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
Asked by MotoGP.com if the Noale-based marque is now ready to mount a title bid next year and take the fight to Marc Marquez and Ducati, Rivola said: “I think that is our target. It must be our target.
“We cannot hide that we are [not] happy to win [just] one race or two in a season. We have all the potential. We have everything to win. We have everything to fight for the victory.
“We have the riders. We will have Jorge [Martin] back. We need a proper pre-season. Jorge needs to do that. Obviously, Marco will start with the season on his shoulders, so that will be a big experience for him, but Jorge needs to learn to be patient and to work on that.
“But it’s good also to count on a strong satellite team [Trackhouse]. I’m really happy that Raul is now there and I’m very confident that Ai Ogura will come, because every time we see the progress from Friday to Sunday, Sunday is always the day where he’s the fastest.
“So next year, Aprilia can be strong. Obviously, we don’t know where the others will be, but according to what we are doing and the way we are working, I think we will be part of the game.”
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Aprilia completely revamped its rider line-up for 2025, signing last year’s champion Martin and multiple race-winner Bezzecchi from Ducati’s satellite stable.
While Martin has largely been sidelined this year due to injuries, Bezzecchi has established himself as a consistent frontrunner, with his Australia podium helping him leapfrog factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia to third place in the championship.
Rivola said he has been impressed by both Bezzecchi’s raw pace and his ability to bounce back from setbacks this year, as he backed him for a title tilt in 2026.
“He’s, for sure, the fastest guy on the grid [at the moment] – at least the combination of Aprilia and the rider,” he told the media at Phillip Island.
“The speed of Marco has always been there. There are signs of speed that are quite clear when you go to a new track, like in India [where] he won. All the fast tracks [like] Assen [and] Argentina, he was always there.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images
“At the beginning of the season, we saw that he was very, very fast. The test in Thailand was really impressive for us. And maybe he built [unrealistic] expectations to start [the season] with podiums straight away because the speed was there.
“Then we moved to Argentina. When you change the bike, you need a bit of time to build your confidence on the performance, especially on the single lap, when you have to get the maximum out of the bike,
“I remember in Jerez, I remember in Le Mans, we saw the recovery he made.
“We saw that the speed was there, it was just a matter of putting everything together. So, I think he will be a title contender [next year].”
In the MotoGP constructors’ standings, Aprilia currently sits second with 345 points and three rounds remaining. Ducati leads with 671 championship points.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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