Podcast: Was Misano the beginning of the end for Aprilia’s MotoGP title hopes?

Marc Marquez’s fifth win of the 2026 season at the San Marino Grand Prix saw him take the lead in the championship, after a nightmare Sunday for Aprilia.

After May’s Italian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion was 102 points adrift of the championship lead, having missed the Barcelona round to have surgery on a shoulder issue.

Since then, Marc Marquez won in Hungary, Czechia, Germany, Aragon, and now Misano, to completely erase that.

After a double victory at Misano - his second in succession - Marquez is now level on 274 point with Jorge Martin, but leads the standings on countback of results.

Marquez’s championship lead came as polesitter Marco Bezzecchi threw away a golden opportunity to win his first grand prix since May on Sunday.

The Aprilia rider, who was second in the sprint, grabbed an early lead at the start of the 27-lap San Marino Grand Prix.

But he crashed at Turn 13 on the opening lap, which has now cast him 33 points adrift of Marquez and Martin at the top of the standings.

It’s not a huge gulf in the modern sprint era, with 37 points available every weekend, but it does represent his fifth non-score on a Sunday in the last seven rounds.

By contrast, Marquez has won all five of his grands prix for the season in that same span.

Given the downturn in form Bezzecchi experienced prior to the summer break, there is a worry that this pattern could continue, not least with Marquez exerting more pressure on him.

And for Martin, his chance to win the grand prix was curtailed by a surprise arm pump issue, which has now left him pondering surgery.

Holding a clear bike advantage at Misano over Ducati, Aprilia failed to convert that to a win in either race, in stark contrast to its performance at Mugello - the last weekend the factory team actually won a grand prix.

On the latest Crash MotoGP Podcast, Amy Reynolds is joined by Lewis Duncan and Peter McLaren to discuss the San Marino Grand Prix and what’s next for Aprilia’s title challenge.

They also look at Pecco Bagnaia’s continued difficulties, after he crashed out of a grand prix for a third successive round on the factory Ducati.

Elsewhere, the futures of several riders were confirmed coming into the Misano weekend.

One of those was World Superbike dominator Nicolo Bulega, who will move to VR46. His roundabout path to MotoGP is also a topic of discussion.