Ducati: Barbs Exchanged Between Marc Marquez and Aprilia After Sepang

Marc Marquez has all but clinched the MotoGP World Championship with his victory at Sepang, and the battle with the Aprilia riders now appears to be decided. One of the hot topics of the week in Malaysia was the possibility of team orders for the Noale-based team’s riders, with Marquez—after the Sprint race and his fierce duel with Ai Ogura—taking a dig at Aprilia.

“Team orders at Aprilia? The paddock is small; these things are common knowledge. Ogura was trying to stay ahead of me because he knew that, otherwise, he would lose his podium spot (by letting Bezzecchi pass him—ed.).”

Massimo Rivola’s reaction was not long in coming, and Aprilia’s CEO alluded to Marc Marquez’s brother, Alex, who had opted out of battling his brother in the Sprint race in Australia: “To be honest, I don’t really care much about what Marquez says. Team tactics are played out at home. They’re played out within the family…”.

Rivola also provided an update on Jorge Martin’s injury, which effectively dashed Aprilia’s world championship hopes: “He did everything he could to be here; we knew it would be difficult. Unfortunately, it was confirmed that it was impossible; after five or six days, a fracture is a fracture. Jorge has already arrived in Spain, and we’ll see how his recovery goes. It will still be very difficult in Qatar, but Dr. Charte told us there’s a chance.”