The Aprilia-Ducati derby is two against one
Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi: the Aragon weekend has filtered the standings and the three stones that were the only ones destined to ‘survive’ until the end remained in the sieve.
The 2026 MotoGP Riders’ World Championship will be contested by these three and the battle will be one to follow weekend after weekend. Marc Marquez did what he had to do in Aragon, full points, 37 points which, helped by Jorge Martin’s anonymous weekend, more than halved the gap bringing it back to only 19 points.
Marco Bezzecchi on his part can smile. With a series of third places, the Italian rider has in turn closed in quite a bit on Martin now 24 points away and on the horizon is Misano where Bezzecchi will be able to try to take advantage of the home factor.
Read more Acosta: “Could I beat Marquez with more engine revs? Hard to say”
Aprilia has two leaders, Ducati only one, and it is truly disheartening to witness the ‘performances’ of Francesco Bagnaia. In 2022 Ducati’s crusade against Fabio Quartararo handed Bagnaia the first of two MotoGP World Championships on a silver platter despite very serious mistakes by the Italian rider, five years later Pecco is not even remotely able to return the favor in any way. Today Ducati has found an ally in Pedro Acosta, a splendid second ahead of Marc Marquez’s rivals. The KTM rider was Marquez’s teammate with a few races in advance and in 2027 he will finally be able to aim for the goals he deserves.
Read more GP Aragon 2026: the race report
