Marco Bezzecchi warns the Ducatis: "Another step forward"

Aprilia centaur Marco Bezzecchi is smiling after the third day of MotoGP testing in Sepang: the Rimini rider finished second behind only Alex Marquez and ahead of the bikes of official Ducati riders Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia. Bezzecchi tried different solutions and expressed optimism at the end of the first seasonal tests, which precede those starting Feb. 21 in Thailand.

“In general I had a lot of fun, because we were able to try a lot of solutions in these tests and I felt really good with the bike. The RS-GP26 is clearly a step up from the previous bike”, explained Bezzecchi. “The second day of testing was partly affected by the rain, while today it was important to try some more things”, continued the rider who came third in the 2025 MotoGP World Championship.

And also confirming the satisfaction at Aprilia’s CEO Massimo Rivola: “After the shakedown and these three days of testing, we can say that the RS-GP26 is better than the previous version, so we are satisfied. In general, we have improved in all areas, even from the aerodynamic point of view, an important leap has been made. The Noale Racing Department confirms that it is capable of making competitive motorcycles and improving year after year”.

Lorenzo Savadori took the place of the injured Jorge Martin: “The goal is to see Aprilia in front of everyone. They have done a great job at Noale, and that shows in Marco’s positive feedback over these three days. A step forward has been made from the RS-GP25 to the 2026 version, we started off on the right foot”.