BEZZECCHI STILL IN THE TITLE FIGHT?

Marco Bezzecchi Is Still in the Title Fight: How Close Is Aprilia to a MotoGP Double?

Published: September 24, 2026
Author: Justinfodoang Editorial Team
Category: MotoGP News / Championship Analysis
Reading Time: 7–8 minutes

Marco Bezzecchi is still in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship fight.

That may sound surprising after a difficult San Marino Grand Prix, where the Aprilia Racing rider crashed out on the opening lap and watched Marc Márquez take the championship lead.

But Bezzecchi's title hopes survived.

After the Austrian Grand Prix on September 20, the Italian sits third in the championship with 264 points, 30 points behind Márquez and 42 behind his Aprilia teammate Jorge Martín.

More importantly, there are still eight Grands Prix remaining in the 2026 season.

That leaves a huge number of points available.

At the same time, Aprilia has created a remarkable situation: Martín leads the riders' championship, Bezzecchi remains third, and Aprilia Racing leads the teams' championship.

So, how close is Aprilia to achieving a MotoGP championship double?

MotoGP 2026 Title Fight After Austria

The Austrian Grand Prix changed the championship picture again.

Jorge Martín arrived at the Red Bull Ring needing to respond after Marc Márquez had taken the points lead at Misano.

He did exactly that.

Martín won Saturday's Sprint before finishing second behind Pedro Acosta in Sunday's Grand Prix.

Bezzecchi also enjoyed a strong Sunday, taking third place and joining his teammate on the podium.

Marc Márquez, meanwhile, finished fifth.

The result left the championship standings as follows:

Position	Rider	Team	Points
1	Jorge Martín	Aprilia Racing	306
2	Marc Márquez	Ducati Lenovo Team	294
3	Marco Bezzecchi	Aprilia Racing	264

Martín therefore leads Márquez by 12 points.

Bezzecchi is 42 points behind Martín and 30 behind Márquez.

The gap is significant, but it is not an elimination from the championship.

Why Bezzecchi Is Still in the Title Fight

The most important factor is the remaining calendar.

There are eight Grands Prix still to be contested after Austria. With the current MotoGP Sprint format, a rider can score up to 37 points during a perfect Grand Prix weekend: 12 in the Sprint and 25 in the main race.

That means 296 points are theoretically available across eight remaining rounds.

Bezzecchi does not need to recover the entire 42-point gap in one weekend.

Instead, he needs to consistently outscore Martín and Márquez.

That makes the championship situation much more complicated than simply looking at the current standings.

Bezzecchi's 42-Point Deficit

A 42-point gap to Martín is substantial.

But in MotoGP, one perfect weekend can change the mathematics quickly.

For example, if Bezzecchi were to win a Sprint and Grand Prix while Martín struggled for points, the deficit could be reduced dramatically in a single weekend.

The same applies to Márquez.

Bezzecchi is only 30 points behind the Ducati rider.

That means the more immediate target for the Aprilia rider is arguably Márquez's second position.

If Bezzecchi can move ahead of Márquez while Martín remains first, Aprilia would occupy first and second in the riders' championship.

That is where the idea of an Aprilia MotoGP double becomes particularly interesting.

Can Aprilia Finish First and Second?

Yes, it remains mathematically possible.

Jorge Martín currently leads the championship and Marco Bezzecchi sits third.

The rider separating them is Marc Márquez.

So the equation for Aprilia is relatively straightforward:

Martín must maintain the championship lead, while Bezzecchi needs to recover at least 31 points on Márquez.

The challenge is that Márquez is the reigning World Champion and remains firmly involved in the title battle.

He also demonstrated at Misano how quickly a championship deficit can disappear.

Just seven rounds before the San Marino Grand Prix, Márquez had been 102 points behind the championship leader. By Misano, he had moved level with Martín on points and led the championship on the countback.

That comeback is an important warning for Aprilia.

A 30-point advantage over Bezzecchi is not necessarily permanent.

Aprilia Has Already Shown the Speed Needed

The biggest reason Bezzecchi's title challenge remains credible is the performance of the Aprilia RS-GP26.

Austria provided another example.

Pedro Acosta won the Grand Prix, but Martín finished second and Bezzecchi third.

Even more significantly, Trackhouse Aprilia rider Ai Ogura finished fourth.

That put three Aprilia-powered motorcycles inside the top four at the Red Bull Ring.

The result demonstrated that Aprilia's competitiveness extends beyond its factory riders.

Martín and Bezzecchi Are Giving Aprilia Two Championship Weapons

Having two riders capable of fighting at the front is extremely valuable during a championship campaign.

Martín currently has the points advantage.

Bezzecchi has already shown that he can qualify on pole, win races and challenge Márquez directly.

At Misano, for example, Bezzecchi set a new lap record and took pole position with a 1:29.982. He then finished second in the Sprint before his Sunday crash ended his Grand Prix.

Austria provided a much more positive response.

Bezzecchi qualified fourth, finished third in the Sprint and then secured another third-place finish in the Grand Prix.

That consistency will be essential if he is going to close the championship gap.

What Bezzecchi Needs to Do From Japan Onward

The next phase of the championship begins in Japan.

MotoGP now enters a crucial stretch of the calendar, with five Grands Prix scheduled across six weeks after the Austrian round.

For Bezzecchi, the objective is not complicated.

He needs points.

Lots of them.

1. Avoid Zero-Point Weekends

The biggest lesson from Misano is the value of finishing.

Bezzecchi started his home Grand Prix from pole position but crashed on the opening lap.

Instead of potentially fighting for 25 points, he scored zero in the main race.

At this stage of the championship, mistakes are increasingly expensive.

A podium may not look as spectacular as a victory, but 16 or 20 points can become extremely valuable when multiplied across eight remaining rounds.

2. Beat Márquez More Often

The mathematics are clear.

Bezzecchi is 30 points behind Márquez.

Every time the Aprilia rider finishes ahead of the Ducati rider, he reduces that deficit.

The reverse is also true.

If Márquez continues finishing ahead of Bezzecchi, the opportunity for an Aprilia 1-2 becomes increasingly difficult.

The battle between these two riders could therefore become one of the defining subplots of the final eight rounds.

3. Keep Martín Within Reach

Bezzecchi does not necessarily need to attack Martín aggressively.

From Aprilia's perspective, the ideal scenario would be for Martín to remain consistent at the top while Bezzecchi steadily takes points away from Márquez.

That would give the Noale manufacturer the possibility of controlling both championship positions.

However, MotoGP rarely follows a simple script.

If Bezzecchi begins winning races while Martín struggles, the championship could eventually become an internal Aprilia battle.

Aprilia Is Already in a Strong Team Championship Position

The riders' championship is only one part of the story.

Aprilia Racing currently leads the 2026 MotoGP teams' championship with 488 points.

That puts the factory ahead of the other teams in the standings.

The performances of Martín and Bezzecchi are central to that position.

The Austrian weekend added another strong result to Aprilia's campaign, with both factory riders on the podium.

Why the Team Championship Matters

The teams' championship measures the combined performance of the two riders representing a team.

That makes consistency particularly important.

One rider can win a race, but a team championship campaign benefits enormously when both riders regularly score heavily.

Aprilia has that advantage in 2026.

Martín is leading the riders' championship.

Bezzecchi is third.

That combination explains why Aprilia has been such a major force during the second half of the season.

The Biggest Threat to an Aprilia MotoGP Double

The obvious obstacle is Marc Márquez.

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider has already demonstrated that a large championship deficit can disappear quickly.

His victory at Misano was particularly important because Bezzecchi retired and Martín finished fifth. Márquez then arrived in Austria with momentum before finishing fifth in the main race.

Márquez is therefore still directly positioned between the two Aprilia riders in the championship.

There is also another factor.

Reliability and Race Incidents

MotoGP championships are not decided by speed alone.

Crashes, mechanical problems, tyre performance, qualifying positions and Sprint results can all influence the final standings.

Bezzecchi's Misano retirement is an obvious example.

A rider can have the pace to fight for victory and still leave a weekend without points.

With eight rounds remaining, minimizing those losses could be just as important as maximizing victories.

Why the Japanese Grand Prix Matters

The next major test comes at the Mobility Resort Motegi.

Jorge Martín will arrive as championship leader.

Bezzecchi arrives third.

Marc Márquez sits between them.

That creates an intriguing three-rider championship battle involving two Aprilia machines and one Ducati.

Martín also confirmed after Austria that he would not undergo surgery for the arm-pump issue that affected him at Misano. He said he was feeling better after the Austrian weekend and would continue into the Asian part of the calendar.

That is important for Aprilia because the championship leader needs to remain physically capable through an extremely demanding final stretch.

Could We See an Aprilia 1-2 in the 2026 MotoGP Championship?

The numbers say the possibility remains open.

The reality is more complicated.

Martín has the advantage of leading the championship by 12 points over Márquez and 42 over Bezzecchi.

Bezzecchi, however, is only 30 points away from second place.

With eight rounds remaining, there are enough points available for the order to change substantially.

Aprilia also has demonstrated competitive pace at multiple circuits, while both factory riders have already proven capable of winning and standing on the podium.

The key question is therefore not whether Bezzecchi is mathematically alive.

He is.

The bigger question is whether he can produce the level of consistency required to turn a 42-point deficit into a championship lead.

The Final Eight Rounds Will Decide Everything

The 2026 MotoGP championship is entering its decisive phase.

Jorge Martín has the advantage.

Marc Márquez remains within striking distance.

Marco Bezzecchi is still waiting for another opportunity to turn his speed into a sustained points surge.

For Aprilia, the dream scenario is obvious: Martín becomes World Champion and Bezzecchi finishes runner-up.

That would give the Noale manufacturer a remarkable 1-2 in the MotoGP riders' championship.

But the current standings do not guarantee that outcome.

They simply show that the possibility is still alive.

And with 296 theoretical points available across the remaining eight rounds, the final chapter of the 2026 MotoGP title fight could still produce another major twist.

Final Takeaway

Marco Bezzecchi is not out of the 2026 MotoGP title race.

After Austria, he sits third with 264 points, 30 behind Marc Márquez and 42 behind Jorge Martín.

His championship position is difficult, but mathematically viable.

More importantly, Aprilia has two riders at the sharp end of the championship and leads the teams' standings.

The Austrian Grand Prix reinforced that strength: Martín finished second, Bezzecchi third, and Aprilia-powered Ai Ogura fourth.

Now the focus shifts to Japan and the final stretch of the season.

If Bezzecchi can consistently beat Márquez while Martín protects his championship lead, Aprilia could move from being a championship contender to having both riders occupy the top two positions.

For now, the numbers leave that door firmly open.

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