Matt Oxley believes the way Aprilia celebrated Marco Bezecic’s 2026 Italian Grand Prix victory inspired Ducati in a one-two with George Martin at Mugello last Sunday.
Bezechichi He put in a flawless performance to clinch a major win in his and Apriya’s first home competition. A native of Rimini, the leader’s teammate Martin At the finish line in 3.559 seconds, while Francesco Bagnaia He finished 5.098s as the leading Ducati racer.
Bagnaya fought early and even led. Italian GPAfter Bezecic pitted from the Mugello pit at the start of the third lap. But the Ducati GP26 was not similar to this Aprilia RS-GP within running distance, and Bezcicci moved in for the lead pole on lap 14.
Martin soon overtook Bagnia in 16th out of 23, as well as Trackhouse racer Ai Ogura in the final stages before closing in on his Satellite Aprilia to grab the final podium spot. After running wide in the final corner, Ogura finished 0.034s shy of Bagnaia.
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After Marco Bezecic won the Italian GP, Ducati were upset by calling the Apria Mugello ‘our home’.
Apria Bezecchi has confirmed her first premier class victory in the Italian GP. Noale’s outfit caught Bezechichi and Martin’s pit boards with what Oxley It was a hint message that angered Ducati by calling Mugello their home.
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Oxlim mentions how Aprilia mocked Ducati with a sticker on their bike at MugelloIt looks like they’ve aimed another dig at their Italian rivals for trying to block the foot fin on the RS-GP. MotoGP has investigated the banning of foot fins. before the 2026 season, but the election failed.
“Ducati and Aprilia don’t really like each other,” he said. Motor sports magazine. “And believe me, the imagination of some factory bosses is at least as big as the imagination of some MotoGP riders…
You know the Ducati bosses are pissed off when they celebrate the Apria’s first Mugello win in the pitlane with the headlines reading ‘Casa’ and ‘Nostra’ – Italian for Our House.
You only need to look at the team’s bikes on pit lane for evidence that it’s another Aprilia disc on a Ducati – the RS-GPs sporting Ducati stickers on their fenders.
“The stickers are inspired by Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream – a face crying in terror, an Aprilia with fins for ears – and ‘Who’s Afraid of Fins?’ They are saying. In other words, they’re a dig at Ducati.
Bezcicci’s Italian GP win in an Aprilia one-two with Martin was a very different result to what Mugello has seen in recent years, Ducati’s home race. The Ducati rider had won the last four editions, and six of the last seven races before Sunday.
Bagnaia was Ducati’s best hope of continuing their recent run domestically, but a real fight was ultimately impossible due to its inferior tire management compared to those aboard the Aprilia RS-GPP. His retreat ensured that Aprilia had an easy lead over Ducati.
Bezsecchi sits 17 points clear of Martin in the riders’ standings and has a 39-point lead over VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, who sits third as the best Ducati pilot this year. The natives of Noale also lead their rivals from Bologna by 30 points in the constructors’ standings.
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