Podcast: What Aprilia's response to growing Marc Marquez threat must be
The team review the German Grand Prix on the latest Crash MotoGP Podcast
Aprilia leads the MotoGP world standings after the German Grand Prix, but a double victory for Marc Marquez has tipped the scales in his favour heading to the summer break.
The Italian manufacturer went from dominating the start of the campaign to its 2026 season suffering several major stumbles in recent rounds.
Marco Bezzecchi was dealt another blow on Saturday at the German Grand Prix when he crashed in qualifying and fractured his collarbone.
It meant he was forced to withdraw from both races and bring his run of Sunday non-scores to four in a row.
He is now 22 points adrift in a championship that, after the Italian Grand Prix at the end of May, he looked like the hot favourite to win.
Team-mate Jorge Martin leads the championship by 14 points after a difficult German Grand Prix, in which he salvaged fifth. But once again, as was the case at Assen, the Trackhouse team looked to have the measure of the factory squad.
Ai Ogura was second ahead of Raul Fernandez, both boosted onto the rostrum by crashes for Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Their tumbles don’t tell the true story of the Germany weekend, in which Ducati was very much in control over Aprilia.
Marc Marquez brushed aside his physical limitations to maximise his points haul in Germany, winning both races to move into third in the standings and just 18 points from Jorge Martin.
It’s an unfathomable turn of events, given he was 102 adrift after Mugello.
Dealing with internal fallouts, mistakes for Bezzecchi and playing second-best to its satellite structure in recent weeks, the Aprilia factory squad needs a reset over the summer break.
On the latest Crash MotoGP Podcast Lewis Duncan and Peter McLaren discuss Aprilia’s struggles and Marquez’s strengthening championship position.
The pair also look at the situation enveloping Maverick Vinales and KTM, as their relationship becomes more strained.
They also look at whether or not the new grid layout made a difference from a safety perspective.
