Marco Bezzecchi’s defiant MotoGP title message: ‘What would be the point?’

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi says he has not lost hope of winning the 2026 MotoGP title despite his growing deficit, as he claims “there would be no point” in racing otherwise.

The Italian now looks like Aprilia’s last hope of winning a first riders’ title in MotoGP, after team-mate Jorge Martin withdrew from the Malaysian Grand Prix due to injury.

Bezzecchi, who led the standings in the early part of the campaign, is now third in the points, with his deficit swelling to 52 after finishing third behind Marc Marquez in Saturday’s sprint at Sepang.

Marquez is 19 points clear at the top and could earn his first match point in the 2026 championship battle next week in Qatar if he wins Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

“I still believe”

Asked by Sky Italy if he still thinks he can win the title in 2026 despite his current position in the standings, Bezzecchi was blunt in his assessment.

“I still believe in the title; otherwise, there would be no point in coming to the races.”

Bezzecchi qualified fifth on the grid and was able to mount a challenge for the podium in Saturday’s sprint at Sepang amid the light rainfall.

The Italian seized third from Trackhouse counterpart Ai Ogura late on.

“I’m happy,” he said.

“It was a good sprint. It was not easy with these conditions, but in the end, maybe my position was the best one if I had to choose, because when the rain started, I knew I had someone in front as a little bit of a reference.

“This can help you to do slightly more than them to catch. Of course, it isn’t easy anyway, but it was a good performance; I’m happy.”

Learning from Marquez

Bezzecchi doesn’t feel he had any answer to challenge Marquez for second once he moved into third, but believes he learned something that could be useful for Sunday’s main race.

“Well, honestly, not really, because Marc, as soon as he had free space in front, he was slightly faster than me,” he said when asked if he could have pressured Marquez for second.

“I saw all the weekend he was super, super quick, together with Alex [Marquez].

“So, I tried to pass Ogura. I tried to go with him, but especially to see how he rides, how he does everything.

“It was important for me to understand something and try to copy a little bit for tomorrow.”