Lorenzo predicted Aprilia would win the world title – Marquez had something to say about that

In a week’s time at Portimão, Marc Márquez will have everything in his favour to secure his tenth World Championship title ahead of schedule. In the overall standings, the Ducati factory rider holds a 60-point lead over his closest rival, Jorge Martín (Aprilia), ahead of the final two events of the season. The “Martinator’s” team-mate, Marco Bezzecchi, now has only a theoretical chance of winning the title – he is already 74 points behind.

After the MotoGP weekend at Mugello, where Aprilia had secured two one-two finishes, Márquez trailed by 102 points in the World Championship standings. He then staged an incredible comeback. “After Mugello I was a long way off, but then my rivals gave me the chance to fight for the championship again,” MM93 said recently in Qatar.

Aprilia had a very good chance in the 2026 season of winning the MotoGP riders’ title for the first time in the company’s history. In the final year of the 1000cc era, the RS-GP is regarded as the best bike on the grid. However, too many mistakes – particularly by Marco Bezzecchi – gave the exceptional Marquez the chance to catch up; it is highly likely that the 33-year-old veteran will seal the title as early as Portugal.

Jorge Lorenzo: Over a coffee with Aprilia’s technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini

During a coffee with Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini ahead of the first race weekend in Thailand, five-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo predicted that the Aprilia bike was good enough to win the title in 2026.

“In Thailand, I had a coffee with Fabiano Sterlacchini. I said to him: ‘If you look at how your bike handles in the corners, you’ll win the World Championship 100 per cent, provided Bezzecchi doesn’t make any mistakes and finishes the races,’” Lorenzo told his colleagues at GPone. “Aprilia had a bike that leaned into the corners much better than the Ducati. It was very light and had exceptionally good handling. Based on my experience, it was clear: I told Fabiano that they would win the title if Bezzecchi remained error-free. Instead, Bezzecchi crashed in the opening race (the sprint race in Buriram, ed.) and further incidents followed. Technically speaking, the Aprilia was superior to the Ducati.”

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Aprilia faces its strongest rival in Marc Márquez. Added to that are the improvements to the Desmosedici that Ducati made over the course of the season. “Marquez is Marquez: he’s the Ayrton Senna or Max Verstappen of motorbike racing,” Lorenzo shrugged. “Technically speaking, he’s in a league of his own.”