MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi has light-heartedly referenced one of Valentino Rossi’s most famous tactics as he prepares for an increasingly tense intra-team battle with Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin. Bezzecchi, who has dominated the 2026 season so far with victories in all three grands prix and an unbroken run of 121 laps led on Sundays since last year’s Portuguese round, currently holds a slim four-point lead in the standings ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Jorge Martin, his closest challenger, has closed the gap with consecutive podiums in Brazil and the USA, as well as a sprint race victory at COTA. Following the Austin weekend, Martin admitted he plans to follow more closely in Bezzecchi’s footsteps with the RS-GP in pursuit of equal footing.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Bezzecchi joked about installing a barrier in the Aprilia garage to keep his strategies under wraps: “So, now I’ll put the wall in the box,” he quipped. “No, I’m kidding, of course. On the one hand, I’m pleased; it means I did a decent job. But since he’s also really good, maybe I’ll copy him too.”
Bezzecchi’s comment alludes to the memorable episode from 2008 when his mentor, Valentino Rossi, insisted on a physical partition in the Yamaha garage to prevent information and tyre data from leaking to new teammate Jorge Lorenzo. While originally justified by differing tyre suppliers, the wall remained even after Bridgestone became the sole supplier in 2009.
Bezzecchi’s achievement of leading 121 consecutive grand prix laps is a new record in MotoGP, extending his Sunday win streak to five. Reflecting on the milestone, he said, “Incredible, huh? I only realised it when everyone else wrote about it. And then I started thinking about it: it’s a big deal, a great satisfaction. Not for now [that this will be a record beaten]. We hope to do at least another 20 or 30 laps in the lead. It will be tough. But I’ll try.”
As the season continues, all eyes will be on the evolving dynamic between Bezzecchi and Martin, with the Aprilia garage set to be the stage for one of the year’s most compelling rivalries.
