The Aprilia rider from Romagna is excited: “I feel a lot of warmth and affection from the team. I’m aiming to fight for the title.” The Piedmontese wants to leave Ducati well: “I like the bike and the tests went well. Being able to ride while pushing one hundred percent is something that helps me”
The charge of the Italians. Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia are two of the most eagerly awaited Italian riders on the MotoGP grid and on the eve of the Thai GP which inaugurates the season this weekend they showed up with different moods, but one common trait: the desire to start again better than how it ended. Bezzecchi arrives at the Chang circuit with the enthusiasm of someone who is about to experience a season as an absolute reference driver for a team that is as ambitious and hungry as him. “In Aprilia they love me, they take care of me and make me feel special. I feel a lot of warmth coming from inside the garage” he said in the first press conference of the season. A climate that evidently authorizes him to raise the bar: “This year I hope to be able to fight for the title.”
expectations
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The Romagna native, however pragmatic, keeps expectations on two tracks: “My initial objective, however, will be different: I would like to start the season better than in 2025, where I initially did not obtain the hoped-for results.” The winter tests went well (he was the fastest in Buriram) but Bezzecchi prefers caution: “I want to keep my feet on the ground. It’s still difficult to see the potential of my opponents. For the first race the favorite is always the reigning champion, therefore Marc Marquez.” On the technical front, the direction of work with Aprilia is clear: “We tried to improve all areas of the bike. Our main objective was stability and we worked on that aspect, we are trying to improve further.”
I’m peaceful
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If Bezzecchi wants to get into the fight at the top, Bagnaia, who has already announced his farewell to Ducati at the end of the season, aims to find himself again. The Piedmontese faces his last season in Ducati with the serenity of someone who has metabolised a complicated 2025 and learned a lesson from it. “I like the bike and the tests went well. Being able to ride pushing one hundred percent is something that definitely helps me” he declared. As for the bike, the opinion is clear: “This bike has few differences, but they are the right ones: I’m more comfortable riding. In the tests I understood that the potential is there and we need to exploit it.” In terms of predictions, however, Pecco remains cautious: “I don’t want to put myself among the favorites considering the 2025 results. I certainly aspire to fight for the top positions, with the best bike on the grid which is Ducati, the objective must be the top 3 every weekend.”
lesson learned
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In another passage Bagnaia reveals how much last season changed him: “In 2025 I finished third here, this year maybe I’ll be fourth and I’ll feel better: the important thing is how you get to the result, regardless of what it is.” A different approach, in short, in light of the difficulties encountered last year: “You can always learn from difficulties, you have to stay calm, appreciating every result and perhaps avoiding the mistakes made in the past.” Then, as if to close the circle: “I feel very happy, serene and calm. It will be a long and difficult season. There will be many contenders for the title and I hope I can be there too.”
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