Marco Bezzecchi says he is pleased with the progress Aprilia has made with its 2026 MotoGP bike so far, but has warned the team needs to be careful when analysing performance due to rapid track evolution at Sepang.
Aprilia has continued its strong form from the end of last season, when it finished second in the manufacturers’ standings and Bezzecchi ended the year third in the riders’ championship. While the new RS-GP has not yet produced headline lap times, Bezzecchi was sixth on the second day of the Sepang test and generally satisfied with the work completed.
After struggling for pace at Sepang last year, both in testing and during the grand prix, Bezzecchi admitted the current feeling is encouraging. However, he pointed out that grip levels have increased significantly throughout the shakedown and official test, making it difficult to judge how much of the performance gain is coming from the bike itself.
He said the team is working well and that, although there are still many items to test, he has little to complain about so far. He added that Sepang is a circuit where Aprilia previously found things difficult, with Buriram offering slightly better conditions last year, but noted that the track is now in extremely good shape.
Because of this, Bezzecchi stressed the importance of understanding what is genuinely improving the bike and what is simply down to improved track conditions. He described Sepang and Buriram as key circuits for introducing and evaluating new parts.
While Bezzecchi did not single out one specific area where the 2026 Aprilia needs to improve, he explained that work is ongoing across many aspects of the bike. He said the engineers are keen to gather more data and that he personally needs more laps to fully adapt to the changes, which remains the main focus of the remaining test time.
