Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola has effectively conceded the 2026 MotoGP riders’ championship, stating that Marc Marquez is the clear winner of the season.
The admission came in the wake of the Grand Prix of Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit, where Marco Bezzecchi claimed victory for Aprilia on November 8, 2026.
Despite Bezzecchi securing Aprilia’s ninth grand prix win of the season, Rivola acknowledged that the result came too late to alter the championship picture. Jorge Martin, Aprilia’s closest challenger in the standings, sits 60 points behind Marquez with only two rounds remaining in Portugal and Valencia.
Marc Marquez is the winner,
Rivola said, as reported by Crash and noted by Juara.net. Rivola pointed to Marquez’s ability to secure 32 points in Qatar as the decisive factor that sets the Ducati rider apart.
Rivola admitted that deploying four factory and satellite machines was ultimately insufficient to derail Marquez’s championship campaign, according to GP One coverage cited by CNN Indonesia. Aprilia fielded Bezzecchi, Martin, and Trackhouse satellite riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura throughout the 2026 season.
Before, I heard someone say that four Aprilia [bikes] are not always enough to beat Marquez, and that’s true: that’s the fact,
Rivola said. He maintained that Aprilia did not lose the championship battle to Ducati as a manufacturer, but rather to Marquez individually.
At the Lusail circuit, Aprilia placed four motorcycles inside the top seven positions. Bezzecchi won the race, Fernandez finished third, Ogura took fourth, and Martin finished seventh despite ongoing physical struggles and injuries, GP One reported. Rivola praised the Spanish veteran’s race craft, noting that Marquez scored 37 points across the Qatar weekend by managing his risks on the most difficult tracks.
You need a fast rider, a champion like the one we have, a competitive bike, and a sports and technical structure that works to put the rider in ideal conditions,
Tardozzi said, pointing to the collective strength of Ducati’s six-bike operation.
Tardozzi praised Marquez for maintaining mental maturity and composure following earlier setbacks, such as a difficult weekend at Mugello. The Ducati official argued that world championships are captured by teams capable of synchronizing rider talent, technical performance, and sporting management.
The tension between Aprilia and Ducati intensified earlier in the autumn following the Sepang round, where Marquez publicly questioned whether Aprilia utilized team orders to protect Bezzecchi’s podium chances ahead of teammate Ai Ogura, according to RiderTua.com. Rivola dismissed those allegations at the time, suggesting that Ducati managed intra-family dynamics through Alex Marquez’s cautious approach toward his brother during the sprint race in Phillip Island.
With the championship battle mathematically nearly closed, Aprilia turns its attention to securing the constructors’ championship. Heading into the final two events in Portugal and Valencia, Aprilia holds a commanding position and requires only eight more points to officially claim the manufacturer’s crown, according to CNN Indonesia.
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