Bez plays a lot in front of the home crowd
One year ago Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia at this stage of the season were doing the ‘dress rehearsal’ to challenge Marc Marquez and Ducati in 2026. The vicissitudes between the end of 2025 and how the 2026 World Championship developed have essentially brought Bezzecchi and Marquez effectively to the same level since the two are separated by five points in favor of the nine-time world champion.
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The surprise – up to a point – is that ahead of them is Jorge Martin, a specialist in winning the World title as a separated rider with his bags already packed for a new destination. The weekends at Misano and the Red Bull Ring will say a lot about which of the three contenders for the throne can look to the Asian tour de force with well-founded optimism.
After several races in which Marquez and the Aprilia riders could alternatively ‘accept’ limiting the damage on ‘unfavorable’ tracks, an event like Misano arrives where they can no longer hide behind this thesis. Whoever prevails will send an important message to the rivals.
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Marco Bezzecchi knows that the home factor can be a double-edged sword. Misano is the home track that is more home than home with all that this entails positively, but also negatively in terms of pressure to manage: “I am very happy to go to Misano. It will be wonderful to finally see all our fans again, even though it will certainly be a very demanding weekend. I can’t wait to get on the RS-GP26“.
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