Massimo Rivola Hails Trackhouse's Assen MotoGP Dominance

Massimo Rivola praised the performance of the Trackhouse MotoGP Team after the satellite Aprilia outfit completed a perfect one-two finish in both the Sprint and Grand Prix at the 2026 Dutch MotoGP in Assen. However, the Aprilia Racing CEO jokingly suggested that such dominance was "enough."

Trackhouse initially lost pole position after Raul Fernandez's fastest qualifying lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. The American squad responded by winning Saturday's Sprint with Fernandez before Ai Ogura claimed his maiden MotoGP victory on Sunday, with Fernandez completing another one-two finish.

Rivola described Trackhouse's success as a major positive for Aprilia's overall MotoGP project. Since becoming Aprilia's satellite team in 2024, Trackhouse has raced identical factory-spec RS-GP machinery while maintaining close technical collaboration with the factory operation.

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"I'm really honestly happy for them. I always said that I wanted to see the day when they can beat us. And they did it two days in a row. I think that's enough!" Rivola joked.

He explained that both teams share technical information through regular engineering meetings and continuous data exchange. According to Rivola, Trackhouse's competitiveness ultimately benefits the entire Aprilia programme.

"We share all the information. We have meetings with our engineers together with them. Many people are sharing information with them. We are very happy about what they are doing because we need them to be fast. If they are fast, it's likely that we learn something from them as well, and then we get faster too," he said.

Although the factory team missed out on placing both riders on the podium, Aprilia still enjoyed an outstanding weekend. Jorge Martin secured third to complete an all-Aprilia podium, while Marco Bezzecchi crashed out on lap two after showing strong pace. Rivola admitted Aprilia could realistically have placed all four RS-GPs at the front had Bezzecchi reached the finish.

The Assen result also strengthened Aprilia's championship position. Martin now leads the riders' standings, Ogura has climbed to fourth and sits only 25 points from the lead, while Fernandez occupies sixth place, highlighting the growing depth of Aprilia's MotoGP project beyond its factory squad.