Why Aprilia prefers hot weather and long races in MotoGP 2026 title battle

Aprilia has been MotoGP’s dominant force in the opening part of the 2026 season, winning the first three grands prix in a row, but its comparative lack of success in the Sprints is indicative of an imbalance in its MotoGP project.

Two things happened in MotoGP in 2023. The most obvious was that the rear tyre allocation for each weekend (barring exceptional circumstances) went from three compounds – soft, medium, and hard – to two – soft and medium. 

Typically, the soft-compound rear tyre with more grip and less durability will be used in the half-distance Sprint and the less grippy, more durable medium-compound will be used in the full-distance Sunday race.

This has been the case at all four MotoGP events in 2025: each Sprint has seen the soft be the favoured rear tyre, and each grand prix has seen the majority of the field choose the medium.

It’s notable, therefore, that Aprilia has had only three podiums and one win in Sprints this year (two for Jorge Martin, one for Raul Fernandez), whereas it has had three wins and seven podiums in grands prix.

It lost a Sunday race for the first time in 2026 at the Spanish Grand Prix on 26 April to Ducati rider Alex Marquez, but afterwards Aprilia Racing team manager Paolo Bonora explained that the medium-compound rear tyre and hot weather is a combination that suits the RS-GP.

“So, at the end, today, look at the sunshine, we love this weather situation, to be honest, with higher temperature,” Bonora told TNT Sports after the race in Jerez, which the factory Aprilia team finished second with Marco Bezzecchi and fourth with Jorge Martin.

“The medium [compound] rear tyre, we like a lot this type of stability that the medium rear tyre gives to the bike and to the rider because the two riders will manage the power in a better way until the end of the race.”

Bonora added that the Sunday result in Spain was of additional importance after the factory team double-DNF’d in the Sprint.

“It was an amazing race,” Bonora said.

“For sure, after a very difficult Saturday, with three riders with zero points, we keep our positive mind, we keep our energy fully focused on today. 

“We forgot [Saturday], it was the correct way to manage this bad situation because it was not an error of the rider it was only an unlucky situation of the tear-off yesterday with Marco [Bezzecchi] and a procedural error on Jorge [Martin] because he was not able to even do the first lap.”