“We’ve been worried since race one” - Aprilia on Marc Marquez MotoGP title threat
Massimo Rivola says Aprilia never stopped viewing Marc Marquez as a championship threat despite his early-season injury setbacks.
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez thrust himself firmly back into the 2026 title fight with his third win in four races at Brno on Sunday.
The factory Ducati rider was a daunting 102 points behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi after Mugello, where he returned from shoulder surgery.
But the Spaniard then completed a perfect double at Balaton Park, followed by third in the Brno Sprint, then another victory in Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Bezzecchi has endured a nightmare run since his emotional home victory in Italy, scoring just seven out of a possible 74 points.
That includes being taken out by team-mate Jorge Martin at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, crashing in Saturday’s Sprint, then being banned from the Czech Grand Prix for striking a marshal in the aftermath of the accident.
As a result, Marquez has climbed to fourth in the standings and now trails Bezzecchi by 40 points with 13 rounds remaining.
“First of all, I think we need to watch ourselves,” Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola said when asked about the threat from Marquez.
“I think we have been worried, if I may say, about Marc Marquez since race one.
“So, I think Marc is a threat, and Ducati is doing a great job; compliments to them.
“I think we need to fix our, let's say, last few weekends, and then we can be competitive again, as Ogura showed this weekend.”
“Marc is Marc”
Jorge Martin reduced the title gap to team-mate Bezzecchi to eight points on Sunday, but was unable to fully capitalise on the Italian’s absence after serving two long-lap penalties for the Balaton incident on his way to ninth place.
Meanwhile, Trackhouse Aprilia rider Ai Ogura led the RS-GP charge at Brno, claiming a maiden MotoGP pole and finishing second in both races, taking the grand prix chequered flag just 0.4s behind Marquez.
“I'm super happy for Ai Ogura,” Rivola said. “I think he deserves to be there. I'm super happy to see him doing the pole position. I was hoping for his victory. I think he deserved it, but Marc is Marc.
“I think there will be more challenging races with Ai, maybe with Jorge and Marco together. So, it's good to have many Aprilias.
“Also, Raul, because [he had an appendix problem]. Sava is here because we thought that Raul was not going to race.
“So, again, the package is strong, the riders are strong. Maybe too emotional sometimes, but it's up to us to manage them, and I also take responsibility for that.”
The Dutch MotoGP at Assen starts on Friday.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
