VR46 boss Marco Bezecic warns Marc Marquez is still the ‘rider to beat’ in 2026

of Ducati Knight found himself down 36 points. Marco Bezecchias a Aprilia 2026 has dominated to start.

Are Ducati too dependent on Marc Marquez to develop their bikes?

Marquez seems to be worried about the United States Grand PrixPartly due to damage sustained during the FP1 crash. And he had another poor result during the race.

even if Marquez’s injury seems to limit DucatiVR46 team manager Pablo Nieto The nine-time world champion still believes that he is the favorite to become the champion.

Read more: Ricard Jove thinks Marc Marquez would be ‘smart’ to let Ducati accept his 2027 contract offer

Pablo Nieto says he is still the ‘favourite’ to beat Marco Bezecic in the MotoGP title race.

VR46 He said in an interview with the team manager Sports newspaperDiscusses the title fight between Marc Marquez and Marco Bezecic.

Bezeci has taken a strong lead in the title race, but Neo believes Marquez’s talent, legacy and pedigree make him the title contender.

“Mark is Mark, I think he’s still the favorite, I still think he’s the favorite because even though he’s not number one in the federation, he’s the world champion.

“He’s the one who made the difference last year, we know he’s coming back from injury, and he’s the rider to beat.

Although Bezeci is in fantastic form at the moment and is having a great season with Aprilia, I still think the rider to win is Marc Marquez.

Can Ducati close the gap with Aprilia this season?

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Pablo Nieto says that despite a strong start, Aprilia does not have a significant advantage over Ducati.

Speaking further in the interview, Neo said that Apria have done a good job with their bikes this year, but cautioned that Ducati should not be counted out just yet.

“Aprilia has been a step ahead in the first three races. I think it’s more about the overall package. Both Marco (Bezzecchi) and Martin are in good form.

“Marco, especially since last year, I’ve seen him win the last two races, he feels very comfortable on the bike.

“Aprilia has done very well, aerodynamically, they are constantly doing different things and it seems to be working, but I don’t think they are that far ahead of Ducati at the moment.

“Now we go back to Jerez, where it is said that the championship will start in Europe. Although I do not fully agree with this, it is true that we will start in Europe, and after four or five races you will start to see what the general direction of the championship will be.”

Ducati will be looking to try and make a comeback at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Marc Marquez looking to win his home race.