Marco Bezzecchi: Aprilia Assen MotoGP domination in spite of lingering core issue

A core weak point of the Aprilia RS-GP is still a factor for the bike in MotoGP 2026, Marco Bezzecchi says.

Bezzecchi topped both practice sessions on Friday at the Dutch MotoGP, which in 2025 was the round that saw his form with Aprilia improve. He was on the podium in both races in the Netherlands last year and afterwards was on the podium in all but four Sunday races.

This year, Bezzecchi arrives in the Netherlands with an eight-point championship lead despite not scoring a point in Czechia where he was suspended after the Sprint, so his start of the season this year has been better than last.

Indeed, his performance at Assen is also better than last year, when he was second-best to Marc Marquez and slower in terms of speed than Francesco Bagnaia. This time, he’s clearly the fastest, thanks largely to his speed in the last sector where the Aprilia is especially strong compared to its rivals.

“I don't know, I have no idea, but for sure the bike has improved a bit, obviously,” Marco Bezzecchi said of the RS-GP’s performance in the final sector.

“Also I tried of course from last year to check the data and see what I could do differently, but still we need to work and try to continue improving. 

“For the moment it's not bad, of course, don't get me wrong, but we can make another step.”

Bezzecchi added that electronics has been the key area of improvement for Aprilia compared to last season, but that stability remains the bike’s weak point.

“[The bike has improved] A little bit everywhere, especially in terms of electronics,” the Aprilia Racing rider said.

“The stability didn't really change too much, it's still our biggest issue because the bike is moving a lot. 

“But in the long corners the bike is turning quite well, this has always been a characteristic of the bike, so this fortunately we kept in the same way.”

The last sector is still not perfect for Bezzecchi, though – as fast as he is in the fast corners he feels he has margin for improvement in the last chicane, which could be crucial in the race.

“Of course I felt not in a bad way in that part of the track, but in the last chicane I'm still not feeling very good,” he said.

“So, I think it's always a 50-50: in the fast part it's not too bad, in the slower part we struggle a bit more, so let's try to work in the box for improving tomorrow.”

Inexperience could tell with start changes

While Bezzecchi has been one of the most consistent performers during this season as a whole through seven round, part of his success can be attributed to the starting prowess of the RS-GP. 

The start procedure for MotoGP changes this weekend, though, as the front start devices have been banned to try to improve safety.

Bezzecchi is one of many riders who have not started a MotoGP bike without a front start device, and the Italian thinks it could take him several races to adapt to the change, compared to a rider like Marc Marquez who has experience from before the start devices were introduced in 2019.

“For sure it's a different thing,” Bezzecchi said.

“It's something that we need to adapt for a couple of races for sure, because for me personally it's from 2022 that I have the front device.

“I'm not a guy like Marc [Marquez] or others that have been in MotoGP before. 

“It's true that for sure we arrived to the first corner a little bit slower because the start is a little bit slower, but also we are wheelieing a little bit more, so at the end the only thing that really can give us a clear vision of how it is will be tomorrow in the sprint.”