While Marco Bezzecchi and his Aprilia team continue trying to dodge the ‘favourite’ label for the 2026 MotoGP title, Marc Marquez now wants nothing more than to pin the tag on the Italian. And, more specifically, the pressure that comes with it.
Bezzecchi has completed a crushing start to the season, very similar to that of Marquez last year, when the Spaniard won the first three grands prix and sprints of 2025. While the Italian has not been as consistent as that on Saturdays, the message Bezzecchi is sending is much like that projected by Marc in his first season with the factory Ducati. ‘Unstoppable’ just about sums it up.
The current championship leader has led from start to finish in all three races held this season: 26 laps in Thailand, 23 in Brazil and 20 last Sunday in Austin. That’s a total of 69 laps without yielding first position, a streak that extends to 121 if we count the GPs of Portugal and Valencia last year, where he led all 25 and 27 laps, respectively. In Austin, the Bezzecchi broke the record for consecutive laps led, which had been held by Jorge Lorenzo (103 laps) since 2015.
The man from Rimini’s trio of 2026 wins already matches his entire 2025 haul. But last year, Bezzecchi prevailed in the British GP thanks to the fact that Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha broke down within sight of victory. And his end-of-season wins in Portugal and Valencia came with Marquez sidelined by injury. In fact, after Bezzecchi himself ran into Marc in the Indonesian Grand Prix to bring about the latter’s absence, the Italian added 111 points, 31.5% of his season total (353). That push allowed him to finish on the championship podium in third place.
This year, things have changed completely. Bezzecchi is winning with absolute authority on Sundays – and he is doing it with all his rivals on track and more or less fit. These include his team-mate, Jorge Martin, who, after a year from hell, is starting to look like the rider who won the 2024 title against all the odds.
Bezzecchi’s connection and working relationship with Aprilia, as well as his approach to races and determination to lead from start to finish (he risked a crash to pass Pedro Acosta on the first lap and lead across the line at COTA), show that Bezzecchi is in exceptional form. But they also reveal a confidence in himself, his bike and his team that makes him seemingly indestructible.
It’s also important to remember that Bezzecchi was signed by Aprilia for 2025 as a young rider in development. But Martin’s serious injuries last year forced ‘Bez’ to grow at a rate of knots, taking on the responsibility of development and leadership of the factory team. A test that he also passed with top marks.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Austin dominance shifts the favourite tag to Bezzecchi
The big test for Aprilia and Marco was the United States GP. After the two races in Thailand and Brazil, where Michelin brought the reinforced rear tyre casings that suit the Noale bike so well, arriving in Austin and returning to conventional tyres was a test for the Italian and a last straw at which Ducati could clutch. But the Bologna marque came out very badly from a weekend that it had dominated in a crushing way last year.
Martin’s sprint victory on Saturday, when he beat Francesco Bagnaia on the last lap, and Bezzecchi’s dominant victory on Sunday, made it clear that the RS GP26 works well in any scenario.
With all these indicators, no one in their right mind can doubt that Bezzecchi is, right now, the main candidate to take the MotoGP 2026 crown, even though the whole season still lies ahead.
Despite this reality, the 27-year-old is resolutely avoiding the ‘favourite’ tag. “As long as I am not capable of avoiding errors like Saturday’s [he crashed in the sprint when he was running second], I will not feel like a title contender,” he said after the grand prix. “Without a doubt, I [have been] fast and strong in these first races, but there is a lot of work left and much to improve. We have to overcome all the difficulties that we are going to encounter and we must keep our feet on the ground because the season is very long.”
All those words are consistent with his policy of trying to keep a low profile, not wanting to assume the pressure of having to be the candidate for the championship.
Marquez wants to transfer the pressure to Bezzecchi and Aprilia
Marc Marquez understands that “the Aprilia-Bezzecchi package has taken a very important step forward” this year. The Ducati rider also understands that he is no longer the favourite as he was pre-season: the current leader of the world championship is.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“When a rider has led all the laps on Sundays, the picture is clear,” Marc pointed out after another difficult grand prix. Although Bezzecchi may continue saying that I am the favourite. Right now, Marco is in incredible form and he is showing it. For the moment, he is unstoppable.”
Marquez knows that he is in a tight spot. The Ducati does not work as it did last year, his rivals have grown in number and strength, and his body is sending him messages that something is not right. With this scenario and 19 grands prix still to go, the veteran knows he needs to look for an edge wherever he can get one.
Bezzecchi has shown everything: Speed, leadership, ambition, strategy, preparation and physical strength. There is only one ‘champion’ detail he has not yet demonstrated: the mental strength to deal with the pressure of being the clear title favourite. It’s a situation he has never experienced and that he will now discover in all its harshness, as Aprilia did when in 2022 it fought for a championship with Aleix Espargaro. A championship that, in the words of the now Honda test rider, “ended up being too big for us”.
Being able to deal with the pressure is the last test that Aprilia and Bezzecchi must undergo. That’s the hope the defending champion will cling to if and when Ducati gives him a bike to win.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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