Davide Brivio: “However you look at it, Aprilia reduced the gap” to Ducati - Exclusive

Even allowing for Marc Marquez’s absence, Davide Brivio is confident Aprilia reduced the gap to Ducati during the 2025 MotoGP season “however you look at it”.

The Trackhouse team principal highlighted that - aside from Marquez’s individual dominance - Ducati began the year by filling the podium in the opening eight races (GP and Sprints). 

Ducati did it eight more times by the halfway stage of the 22 rounds.

But the Desmosedici riders achieved a podium sweep just once more during the second half of the season, at the Balaton Park Sprint.

“I think we saw at the beginning of the year a big dominance from Ducati, with all their riders,” Brivio told Crash.net.

“There were three, four, five Ducatis always in front.

“Then, by the end of the season, Ducati remains probably the best bike, but there was much more as a mix between Aprilia and KTM, sometimes Honda.”

Newly crowned champion Marquez’s Mandalika injury inevitably changed the end-of-season landscape. 

Ducati still won four of the last eight races (one GP, three Sprints) with Gresini GP24 riders Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer, but Brivio felt their overall grip on MotoGP clearly loosened.

“Unfortunately, Marc was forced to stay out… Ducati did still win races with other riders, but were less dominant, let's say.

“The race weekends became more unpredictable compared to the beginning of the season. This is what I can see.

“But then there are many factors, of course. When you already reach your target [of winning the title], maybe you can relax or whatever.

“So of course, big compliments and congratulations to Ducati for what they have done. They did an amazing job. They're dominating MotoGP.

“But the other competitors are trying to catch up.”

With Marc Marquez missing, Aprilia won three of the final four GPs, including a debut victory for Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez, during the RS-GP’s best-ever season.

It was a huge turnaround from the start of the year, when Fernandez and Jorge Martin were both injured on the opening day of the Sepang test.

Aprilia then had to wait until round seven, at Silverstone, for its first podium - and victory - of the season, courtesy of Marco Bezzecchi.

“I think this shows how good the development job was from Aprilia,” Brivio said of the contrasting start and finish to the season.

“How Aprilia has improved through the season - with many small things, small updates, tidying up a few operations and stuff like that.

“So congratulations to Aprilia. Because I think, however you look at it, the gap [to Ducati] has been reduced, and this is what made the races a little more unpredictable.

“For sure, it’s a credit to Aprilia for the progress made during the season.”

While Ducati claimed a world championship one-two with Marc and Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi was third for Aprilia, which also finished runner-up in the constructors’ standings.

Fernandez, who also celebrated a Sprint podium at Mandalika and was runner-up to Bezzecchi at the Valencia finale, was tenth overall for Trackhouse.