In the excitement of the preseason tests in Sepang, Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia have embarked on a new era together. Between promises of performance and challenges to overcome, the Italian has the heavy task of testing the evolutions of the RS-GP for 2026. But will Aprilia be able to compete with the giant Ducati?
A Honeymoon Full of Challenges
To celebrate their recent union, Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia took their honeymoon in Malaysia. In the absence of Jorge Martín, who is still recovering from two surgeries in December, the Italian had a heavy responsibility in choosing parts for the official team, although test rider Lorenzo Savadori and representatives from Trackhouse also contributed to the work.
Bezzecchi took a methodical approach, starting the week on the 2025 bike to establish a solid base before gradually reviewing the new features brought by the manufacturer for comparisons.
“I can’t complain,” he said on Tuesday after the first day on track. “Of course, it’s still early to make a clear comment about the new bike, but it’s interesting. The guys from Noale have done a good job. They brought us a lot, a lot of things, a lot of parts to test, so we will have to do a lot of laps.”
Marco Bezzecchi tested many new features on the Aprilia in Sepang.
On Wednesday, Bezzecchi acknowledged that he “needed a little more time to understand” and, once the test concluded, he simply mentioned an Aprilia that has “improved a bit” this year.
Promising but Cautious Evolutions
When asked about certain evolutions, such as the complex winglets that appeared at the back of the seat, the Italian admitted to feeling only “very small differences,” without wanting to go into details: “You always ask me questions I can’t answer. My boss doesn’t want me to respond.”
So, let’s ask the boss in question directly, Massimo Rivola. The CEO of Aprilia Racing confirmed the positive trend on the part of the Italian manufacturer. “I am happy, of course, that the 2026 bike is better than the 2025,” Rivola commented. “This again shows that Noale is a good company, capable of producing good bikes and also improving performance every year.”
Aprilia is confident that it has made progress.
The work done in Sepang mainly allowed for a certain sorting among all the new features brought and to define the essentials of what the Aprilia RS-GP26 will be. Even if Bezzecchi assures that “nothing is decided,” the main lines are already defined. It was crucial to act quickly since the Buriram test is only a week before the start of the season, leaving little room for major changes.
“There will also be small parts in Thailand,” Rivola specified. “I think 80 to 90% of the package will be finalized by this [Thursday] evening, but after analyzing everything at home, small details will be brought to Thailand for the final developments to have a solid enough base.”
“It is clear that Thailand is a rather different circuit in terms of aerodynamics and characteristics. It is more of a stop-and-go circuit. Yes, there will be something more.”
Ducati, Still the Reference
Aprilia has thus been able to define the configuration of its bike for the 2026 season, but it still does not know what it is truly worth against the competition. Rivola is wary of the progress that other brands may have made and does not seem to exclude Yamaha after the Japanese manufacturer’s difficult week.
“We can only work on our bike, on ourselves, and not on others. We have seen that almost everyone has improved. We have seen Honda being very fast, Ducati being the reference again, KTM being better than last year. So honestly, I think it will be a rather interesting championship, with someone again at the top, and it is still the same, but we will remain in their wake.”
Will Marco Bezzecchi be able to keep up with Pecco Bagnaia this year?
Has the Aprilia clan at least narrowed the gap with Ducati? “I can’t tell you yet,” Rivola conceded. “We have to wait a bit, because in testing, it is always difficult to know how many laps the tire had, how much fuel was in the tank…”
“Pecco [Bagnaia] did a sprint simulation [which means] we could all go home now and see each other in 2027! [laughs] We certainly have a better bike than last year, and last year went quite well, so we can only be optimistic. To what extent have the others improved? The others have clearly progressed as well. It is still a bit early to say, but in any case, Ducati will remain a reference.”
Ideal but Delicate Conditions
Marco Bezzecchi also struggles to position Aprilia in the hierarchy. “It’s difficult to make a clear comment because everyone is following their own plan,” the rider recalled. “You never know what tires [are being used], how many laps they have done, how much fuel [they have loaded]. I saw riders and I was holding my own, but it’s difficult to make a clear comment.”
Marco Bezzecchi provided his feedback to Aprilia.
The difficulty also lies in the track conditions, unusually favorable after a week of testing, between the Shakedown and the collective test. The riders laid down a lot of rubber on the circuit, which allows for grip far from what a circuit offers during a Grand Prix… and complicates the development work.
“Yes, it’s difficult, especially [Wednesday and Thursday], because it feels like everything is going well,” Bezzecchi explained. “So you really have to be super focused and try to feel everything on the bike, try to be precise in the feedback because the track is very good. The pace is therefore very good and, compared to the race, we are going much, much faster.”
“It’s not super easy, but it’s great to ride on a track like this because when we come here for the race weekend, unfortunately, the track conditions are always difficult in terms of grip level. And riding a MotoGP on a track like this is super fun.”
