Has the end of Marco Bezzecchi’s record MotoGP run turned up the pressure?

MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi says there is no difference in pressure now that his record run of race victories and laps led is over.

The Italian started the 2026 campaign in dominant fashion, as he won the opening three grands prix of the season on the factory Aprilia.

That brought his streak to five in a row, having been victorious in Portugal and Valencia last year, marking a new record for Aprilia in MotoGP.

Marco Bezzecchi also set a new record for 121 laps led consecutively in this time, besting Jorge Lorenzo’s old benchmark from 2015.

But it came to an end last weekend at Jerez, with Bezzecchi not leading a single lap in the grand prix and having his victory streak ended by Gresini’s Alex Marquez.

It marked the first real challenge the championship leader has had in 2026, though he still finished second.

Asked if he now felt more pressure, Bezzecchi replied: “No, but I prefer to finish first and have everyone ask me, ‘You’ve made 20 million in a row’.

“But at the end, the pressure is the same.

“I mean, when you are on the grid on Sunday, you feel a lot of pressure, even when you start last on the grid, because the sensations you have inside your body are always the same from the first mini bike race to the last MotoGP race.

“So, for sure, it was a wonderful moment for me, the first three races, leading all the laps.

“But it was normal that at some point this was going to finish. Fortunately, we ended in a decent way, making also a good race today.

“Hopefully, we can try to keep this level.”

Bezzecchi had a mixed weekend at Jerez, with the Italian registering his third sprint crash from the first four rounds.

Despite this, and not extending his Sunday victory streak, Bezzecchi left the Spanish Grand Prix having extended his championship lead to 11 points over team-mate Jorge Martin.

Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Aprilia became the latest manufacturer to debut its prototype 850cc bike ahead of the 2027 regulations reset.

Lorenzo Savadori carried out the tests.