Marc Marquez has warned that Marco Bezecchi has Valentino Rossi ‘behind him’ in the MotoGP title fight.

As one of the second season Aprilia Rider, many expected Bezecchi to be a consistent title contender with the reigning MotoGP World Champion; Mark Marquez.

season-opening Grand Prix in Thailand; Bezecchi crashed out of the lead in the sprint race. and then Bezeci won the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Bezcicci sits second in the 2026 MotoGP championship as the Italian heads into the Brazilian Grand Prix with a chance to dominate the standings.

Prove me wrong: Marco Bezecchi will be Marc Marquez’s closest rival in 2026.

Alex Barros supports Marco Bezecic in his fight for the 2026 title

Former MotoGP rider Alex Barros was interviewed ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Sports world Was Marco Bezcicci ready to challenge Marc Marquez for the title?

He said he believed in the Brazilian rider’s influence. Valentino Rossi It helped prepare Bezecic for the 2026 season and his fight with Marquez.

Barros said: “I think Bezecchi is a strong contender for the title, I knew it was going to happen before the world championship. I thought Bezecchi would at least start the season as strong as he did last year, and Aprilia have really given him a bike, that little bit of difference (compared to Ducati) has been removed. Valentino has him behind him, let’s not forget that – he He is one of Valentino’s riders.

“Then there’s the whole story of Valentino and Marc, we all know about that. Unless something happens, like an accident, I think he’ll be there all year long. But equally, I think he’ll be a rider who’s constantly fighting for victory in the championship.”

Marco Bezecchi bounces back from his sprint accident to win in Thailand! 😍 Is this the beginning of the title case?

Valentino Rossi fears beating Marquez is ‘impossible’.

During the MotoGP Hall of Fame dinner filmed at the end of the 2025 season, Valentino Rossi discusses Bezecic’s chances of beating Marquez. In the year 2026

The Italian believes his assistant will struggle to fight Marquez in 2025 as Aprilia is ‘a bit worse’ than Marquez’s Ducati.

Rossi said, “The Aprilia is a bit worse than the Ducati. So it’s not possible to beat Marquez with a worse bike? It’s impossible.”

This was a sentiment shared by 2003 World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson. During the recording of the Gas It Out podcast, Hodgson revealed he believed Bezecchi had a ‘terrible’ Thai Grand Prix..

Hodgson believes Bezzecchi’s failure during the sprint race could mean the Italian will struggle to challenge Marquez for the MotoGP title.