Aprilia's dominance surprised the MotoGP riders at the start of the season

The least we can say is that the start of the 2026 season of MotoGP is full of surprises. Just a few months ago, nobody expected Aprilia to be at the top of all the rankings, Marco Bezzecchi to become the man to beat on Sundays, or Jorge Martín to make his return to the podium as early as the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Even more unpredictable, the Márquez brothers, first and second in the championship in 2025, and who dominated two-thirds of last season, are no longer performing at their best. While Álex is struggling to adapt to his new bike, Marc is still hampered physically by the lingering effects of the shoulder injury he sustained after his crash in Indonesia last season.

The races we witnessed were also unpredictable. On the one hand, the Thai Grand Prix gave us a vague idea of ​​the established hierarchy, while the Brazilian Grand Prix unfolded amidst the chaos caused by the downpours that battered the circuit. The United States Grand Prix also offered a few surprises. These included Enea Bastianini's excellent weekend, returning to the Sprint podium, and Joan Mir's superb qualifying performance, finishing 5th on his Honda.

The surprises of the MotoGP riders

With this reshuffling of the grid, the riders were invited to share their surprises from the start of the MotoGP season. Unsurprisingly, the change that has struck them most on the grid so far remains the dominance of the Aprilia camp. It particularly impressed Diogo Moreira: “I would say [that the biggest surprise is] Bezzecchi. At the end of last year, he was already there, but this year he is incredibly strong.” the Brazilian commented on the official website of the discipline. I'd also say Martín. Aprilia in general has done a great job this winter. They're very strong, and for me, the best pair of riders right now is the one from the Aprilia factory team.

A view shared by his teammate at Honda LCR, Johann Zarco: "What Marco Bezzecchi is doing is so exceptional," he said during the French Grand Prix press conference. At Aprilia, Jorge Martín even surprised himself by performing well right from the start of the championship: "Being on the podium after two rounds is already a big surprise," adds the Martinator about him.

Unexpected for some, it seemed more logical to others. When questioned, Marc Márquez and Luca Marini explained that they had anticipated Noale's takeover. The two men were therefore not truly surprised by the overall standings after three rounds.

"Any surprises? For me, there aren't any." "That's the answer from the 2025 world champion," he replied without hesitation. From the start of pre-season, and even towards the end of last season, we understood that Marco [Bezzecchi] was very fast. We also already knew that Aprilia was fast and improving.

The Italians echoed this sentiment: "I wouldn't say there are any surprises, continued the Honda HRC rider. It's more or less as the pre-season tests suggested. We've seen a lot of progress from some manufacturers, especially Aprilia. For our part, we remain focused on our plans, trying to understand how many improvements we can make in this first part of the season.

For his part, Franco Morbidelli delivered a more poetic speech, praising his sport: "MotoGP is full of surprises. It's very difficult to choose just one. That's the beauty of this sport." Let's hope that the 2026 season has many more in store for us.

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