Aprilia MotoGP boss labels Marc Marquez 2026 MotoGP title “favourite”
Massimo Rivola believes Marquez is now the reference rider in the 2026 MotoGP title chase
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola believes the 2026 MotoGP title battle will go down to the wire, but has labelled Marc Marquez as the “favourite” at the midway point of the season.
The reigning world champion was 102 points down in the championship standings after the Italian Grand Prix, having battled ongoing injury issues with his right shoulder.
But since the Mugello round, Marc Marquez has won three grands prix and capitalised on a collapse in form for erstwhile championship leader Marco Bezzecchi to pull himself right into contention.
After the German Grand Prix, Marquez is just 18 points from current leader Jorge Martin.
‘This will be a world championship up for grabs until the very last race’
Aprilia emerged as favourites to win the title in the early part of the season, but Ducati has appeared to close the gap at the summer break.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports, Rivola says he is not focusing on the standings right now.
However, he firmly believes that Marquez is now favourite.
“As I've always said from the beginning, we don't look at the standings, and even less so now,” Rivola said.
“We know we have very strong riders, both us and our satellite team.
“We know the bike is very competitive, so I've always thought this would be a world championship that would be up for grabs until the very last race.
“It's fantastic to be part of the game, and it's fantastic to be part of an all-Italian challenge for a world title of this calibre.
“As I said, I think we'll fight until the very last race.
“We know there's a guy named Marc Márquez there who clearly has the advantage in all the predictions; he's the favourite, but we'll never give up.”
Both Ducati and Aprilia have managed to win grands prix with three riders so far this season.
Aprilia has scored four with Bezzecchi, one with Martin and one with Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura, while Ducati has three with Marc Marquez, one with VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and one with Gresini’s Alex Marquez.
