Bezzecchi Encouraged by RS-GP 2026, Urges Sepang Caution

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Marco Bezzecchi says he has little to complain about regarding the work Aprilia has done on its 2026 MotoGP bike so far, while stressing the importance of caution when interpreting performance at a rapidly evolving Sepang circuit.

Aprilia has carried momentum into the 2026 pre-season after finishing second in the manufacturers’ championship last year, with Bezzecchi ending the campaign third in the riders’ standings. Although the new RS-GP has yet to deliver a standout headline lap time, Bezzecchi placed sixth on day two of the Sepang test and expressed satisfaction with the overall direction of development.

After struggling for pace at Sepang last season, both during testing and the grand prix, Bezzecchi acknowledged that the current form of the bike is a positive sign. However, he cautioned that significant improvements in track grip from the shakedown through to the official test complicate the evaluation process.

We are working well.
Of course, there are still many things to try and a lot of work still to do.
But for the moment, I can’t complain at all.

I’m enjoying it.
The track is super nice.

Bezzecchi pointed out that Sepang has historically been a difficult venue for Aprilia, making it essential to distinguish between genuine technical progress and gains that may be influenced by improved track conditions, especially when compared with other circuits such as Buriram.

This is a track where we struggled a lot last year, both in the test and also the GP.
Buriram was slightly better.

The track condition now is very, very good.
So it’s always difficult to find a base when the track is so good.

We have to be careful and focus on understanding what is really making the difference on the bike,
and what is giving us performance because of the track.

Anyway, these are two important tracks for us to bring parts to the bike.

When asked about specific areas where the 2026 RS-GP still needs improvement, Bezzecchi avoided singling out one key weakness. Instead, he emphasised that the current phase of testing is about broad evaluation and data gathering across multiple aspects of the bike.

There are still many areas to improve and still many parts to try.
So it’s difficult to point to one specific area.

We are working in general on the whole new bike,
which is looking not too bad so far.

But the engineers still want to see much more data,
and I still need many more laps to adapt to all these changes.

That is the main target for these days.