Aprilia considers team orders for Martin: What it means for Bezzecchi

• Sterlacchini wants to give Aprilia “one or two races”, after which instructions could follow
• All four Aprilia riders still have a mathematical shot at the title, Raul Fernandez could drop out after Sepang
• Martin and Ai Ogura move to Yamaha in 2027, Bezzecchi and Fernandez stay with Aprilia

With five races left in the 2026 MotoGP season, just two points separate Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez. At the Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika, Aprilia celebrated the first one-two-three-four in its history, yet the championship leader’s advantage did not grow. Bezzecchi won ahead of Fernandez, Martin was only third, and Marquez left his weakest track without losing ground. That leaves Aprilia facing a question the manufacturer has so far avoided: when do the other Aprilia riders have to step aside so that Martin can win the title? The answers coming out of Noale differ, and there are more problems behind the decision than it first appears.

When will Aprilia introduce team orders?

There is no fixed date, but Aprilia could start issuing instructions to its riders within one or two races. Technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini hinted at this after the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Italia, Sterlacchini was clear: “The stakes are high, and we must avoid ‘wasting money’, as has already happened. This isn’t the time for orders; we’ll give ourselves 1-2 races, then we’ll have to draw a line and start handing them out; that’s part of this sport.”

In the media debrief in Mandalika he sounded somewhat more cautious. Aprilia has not set a deadline, he said. At some point in the coming races, however, the moment could come when he sits down with Aprilia Racing boss Massimo Rivola and decides on a team strategy with no ifs and buts. For now, he said, they are still a fair way from that point, there are many points still to be won and anything is possible. That is why the riders are being left free to race for the time being, although he does not know for how much longer.

The order Sterlacchini describes is important. First, internal guidelines are to be introduced to avoid problems between the brand’s own riders. Only after that will it be about real instructions, such as whether a rider has to make way for Martin.

Strictly speaking, this is not just about team orders. Fernandez and Ogura ride for the Trackhouse team, which runs the Aprilia RS-GP as a customer team. An instruction affecting all four riders would therefore be a manufacturer directive spanning two teams.

What has Massimo Rivola said about team orders so far?

Rivola had so far ruled out team orders as long as a rider still has a mathematical chance of the title. Sterlacchini’s comments now suggest that Aprilia could draw that line earlier.

At the end of September, after the Austrian Grand Prix, Rivola had still taken a clear stance on Sky Italia. As long as the riders had the maths on their side, it was right to give them the chance to fight for the title. He even hoped that both factory riders would stay mathematically in contention until the final race. At the time, Martin was twelve points ahead of Marquez, Bezzecchi was third, 42 points behind Martin, and 259 points were still available over seven races.

The fact that Aprilia has relied on equal treatment for so long also has to do with how the season has unfolded. In the first half of the season, Bezzecchi at times had a 102-point lead over Marquez. That was followed by a difficult summer for him with a race ban as well as injuries to his knee and collarbone.

Which Aprilia riders still have a chance of the title?

Mathematically, all four Aprilia riders still have a chance of winning the title. After Mandalika, only eight riders in total remain in the running for the world championship.

Martin leads with 355 points ahead of Marquez on 353 points. Bezzecchi is on 309 points, 46 behind his teammate. Ogura is 96 points adrift, Fernandez 119 points. There are still 185 points up for grabs in the last five races. That figure shrinks with every weekend:

• to 148 points after Phillip Island
• to 111 points after Sepang
• to 74 points after Qatar
• to 37 points after Portimao, leaving only the finale in Valencia

That makes Fernandez the closest to the limit. If the gaps stay as they are, he would be mathematically out after Sepang. The track in Malaysia is considered one of the more difficult races for Aprilia. This scenario is far from certain, though, as Fernandez won at Phillip Island last year after Bezzecchi had to serve a double long lap penalty there. Ogura has a good chance of still being in title contention when he travels to Qatar.

One factor of uncertainty is the calendar itself. The Qatar Grand Prix is reportedly in doubt because of the war in West Asia. If the race were cancelled, the calculation would change for all riders.

Why are team orders such a sensitive issue for Aprilia?

Team orders would force Aprilia to favour the very rider who is leaving the team at the end of the season. Martin, like Ogura, moves to Yamaha in 2027, while Bezzecchi and Fernandez stay with Aprilia.

Bezzecchi is seen as the long-term future of the factory team. If it came to it, he would have to step aside for a rider who will then race for a rival. For Fernandez and Ogura, there is a second problem. If either of them gave up a position to Martin, it would worsen their own championship standing and cost Trackhouse points in the team standings.

The two Trackhouse riders had already commented on the issue before the race weekend in Mandalika. Fernandez said he was not thinking about team orders at the moment. If the title was at stake in the last two races, they would see. Until then, he would ride for Trackhouse and wanted to get the maximum for his team. Ogura promised not to do anything “stupid” if Martin or Bezzecchi were ahead of him. But if he could overtake safely, he would try.

The sprint in Mandalika showed how quickly things between the riders can turn. Fernandez and Bezzecchi started from the front row but collided at the very first corner and both retired. Fernandez afterwards accused Bezzecchi of riding unprofessionally. Before the sprint, there had been a meeting where the message was not to get in each other’s way. Sterlacchini says such situations can never be entirely prevented, even when roles and risks have been clearly discussed beforehand.

On Sunday morning, Rivola and Sterlacchini therefore brought the riders together for a talk. Everything is pushed to the extreme here, including the riders’ attitude and nerves, says Sterlacchini. Tensions often arise from misunderstandings rather than real problems. They talked things through, and everything went well.

What would team orders have changed in Mandalika?

In the Grand Prix, team orders could have earned Martin four more points. With second place instead of third, he would have left Mandalika with a six-point lead instead of two.

Fernandez finished second on Sunday with broken fingers on his right hand, directly ahead of Martin. Some afterwards raised the question of whether he would have been asked to let Martin through later in the season. At that point, however, there was no such instruction, and Martin was not the fastest Aprilia rider all weekend. He himself said that Bezzecchi and Fernandez had always been one step ahead of him and that third place had been his goal.

Martin lost even more points in the sprint, though not because of his brand colleagues. He was already clearly in the lead when he had to let Marquez through because of low front tyre pressure. Shortly before the end, he ran wide under braking at Turn 16 and dropped back to fourth. Without this incident, Martin could have had an eleven-point lead in the championship instead of two.

Marquez survives his problem track without losing ground

For Ducati, Mandalika was above all a weekend of damage limitation. Before this year, Marquez had never finished a Grand Prix there and had been seriously injured twice at the track. In the end, he came away with a sprint win, sixth place in the race and the same gap as before the weekend.

That is exactly what makes the team orders question so pressing for Aprilia. The title fight between Martin and Marquez has been decided by small margins for weeks. After Misano, they were level on points, after Austria Martin was twelve points ahead, and after Japan and Indonesia two points each time. After Mandalika come tracks that should suit Marquez and his Ducati better, and the tyre construction will also be back to the usual one. In Indonesia, Michelin brings a stiffer carcass to the track, which the Ducati does not handle well.

Marquez has never lost a direct title duel in his career. Aleix Espargaro, Martin’s close friend and former Aprilia rider, who was racing in Mandalika as a replacement rider for Honda, pointed this out. Jorge Lorenzo came close in 2013, and Andrea Dovizioso took Marquez all the way to the finale in Valencia in 2017. Martin himself knows such duels. In 2023 and 2024 he fought Francesco Bagnaia for the title and became world champion at the second attempt.

Martin’s last Grand Prix win came in May at Le Mans. He has, however, been on the podium three times in a row recently: second in Austria and Japan, third in Mandalika. For the run-in, he is counting on consistency. “For sure, consistency will be super important. Speed will be super important. And to be intelligent,” he said.

How is Ducati reacting to the team orders debate?

Ducati fully expects Aprilia to issue instructions sooner or later. Team manager Davide Tardozzi considers this right and logical and says he would do exactly the same himself.

Tardozzi knows what he is talking about. He was there in 2017 when Ducati gave Jorge Lorenzo the instruction “Mapping 8” in the title fight between Dovizioso and Marquez. It was meant to get Lorenzo to help his teammate Dovizioso. For now, Tardozzi sees Ducati as well placed despite Aprilia’s superiority. Arriving two points behind and leaving two points behind was a success for Ducati, he said. If they could defend themselves in Australia, the world championship was achievable.

In theory, Ducati could deploy helpers for Marquez itself. Francesco Bagnaia, Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli no longer have a mathematical chance of the title. However, Bagnaia has not been on the podium since the summer break, Morbidelli rarely finishes in the top ten, and Aldeguer broke his right hand in Mandalika. Aprilia, on the other hand, often has several riders who can fight for wins and podiums. All four RS-GP riders have already won a Grand Prix this season.

What’s next in the MotoGP title fight after Mandalika?

The next race takes place from 23 to 25 October at Phillip Island in Australia. It is followed by Sepang, Qatar, Portimao and the season finale in Valencia.

By Phillip Island at the latest, it should become clear whether Aprilia sticks to Sterlacchini’s timetable. Besides the riders’ title, the manufacturers’ championship is also at stake. Ahead of the race in Australia, Aprilia and Ducati are only twelve points apart there.

After his first win since Mugello, Bezzecchi has not yet given up hope. He knows he is a long way behind, but wants to give his best until the end. The remaining tracks could give him hope: last year he won the Grands Prix in Portimao and Valencia. At Phillip Island, he was held back by the double long lap penalty following his collision with Marquez in Mandalika in 2025. That is precisely the dilemma Aprilia faces. The manufacturer has to weigh up whether to keep supporting both factory riders equally or to bet everything on Martin.

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