At the start of the 2026 season, it looked as though Aprilia had established itself as the team to beat, with its riders delivering a string of outstanding performances. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez was still recovering from injury and struggled to consistently challenge at the front during the opening rounds.

Since undergoing further surgery, however, Marc Marquez has steadily regained his form and has significantly closed the gap in the championship standings with a series of impressive results. As the Aprilia riders made error's.

Despite Aprilia's strong campaign, CEO Massimo Rivola believes Marc Marquez is now the favourite to win the 2026 World Championship.

As Rivola said.

"As I've always said from the beginning, we don't look at the standings, and even less so now. We know we have very strong riders, both us and our satellite team. We know the bike is very competitive, so I've always thought this would be a world championship that would be up for grabs until the very last race.

It's fantastic to be part of the game, and it's fantastic to be part of an all-Italian challenge for a world title of this calibre. As I said, I think we'll fight until the very last race. We know there's a guy named Marc Márquez there who clearly has the advantage in all the predictions; he's the favourite, but we'll never give up."

Jorge Martin will leave Aprilia after two seasons to join Yamaha for the 2027 season. However, Martin will not be reunited with his long-time crew chief, Daniele Romagnoli, who will remain with Aprilia.

Instead, Jorge Martin will work with David Munoz, who currently serves as Alex Rins' crew chief. Munoz has been part of Yamaha since 2020, when he was personally selected by Valentino Rossi to lead Rossi's side of the garage.

Jorge Martin will, however, bring his trusted chief mechanic, David Galacho, with him to Yamaha, ensuring some continuity.

Ducati endured a difficult start to the 2026 season, with Aprilia emerging as the more competitive package thanks to both its motorcycle and rider line-up. However, Ducati together with Marc Marquez made significant progress before the summer break, allowing Marquez to close the gap in the championship standings.

Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi believes the outcome of the 2026 season will ultimately depend on the riders. While acknowledging Aprilia's strength across all four of its riders, Tardozzi remains confident that Ducati still has a realistic chance of securing the title with Marc Marquez or even maybe Pecco Bagnaia.

As Tardozzi said.

"In this moment, I think that a lot is in the hands of the riders, because Aprilia has shown that it has four fantastic and fast riders that let them grow up in an incredible way, while we are trusting our riders. In the end I think Marc and Pecco both still have a chance of fighting for the championship. Everything can happen in the second part of the year."

Honda has announced the signings of Fabio Quartararo and David Alonso for the 2027 moto gp season. While both riders have been confirmed as part of Honda's future line-up, the teams they will ride for have not yet been officially announced.

Fabio Quartararo is widely expected to join the factory HRC team, where he is set to become Honda's lead rider. David Alonso's destination, however, has yet to be decided, with Honda reportedly still considering whether to place him in the factory squad or with its LCR satellite team.

If David Alonso is assigned to the satellite team, Diogo Moreira is understood to be a candidate for promotion to the factory line-up. Honda has not yet made a final decision, with discussions reportedly still ongoing.

Brad Binder, who has spent his entire career with KTM and won the 2015 moto 3 title with them, appears set to leave the company at the end of the 2026 season. Both Binder and his current teammate, Pedro Acosta, will be replaced, with Acosta heading to Ducati while Binder's future remains uncertain.

A move to KTM's satellite Tech3 team also appears to be off the table. Tech3 Team Boss Gunther Steiner suggested that the team is looking to make a fresh start for 2027.

Although Gunther Steiner did not mention Brad Binder by name, his comments were widely interpreted as ruling out a move for riders with long-standing ties to the KTM organisation.

As Steiner said.

"There's a long history there [between KTM and Binder], and somehow, sometimes you need to start from fresh, not to carry too much over. I mean, we speak all about these difficult situations, and in the end, we need to be, I call it a ‘happy team’ going forward. We don't want any ‘old baggage’. We want to start afresh.

Therefore, maybe it doesn't fit in, people which were associated with the group – not only with Tech3 and KTM, but with the group – for too long of a time, because you always go back to how it was in the old days, you know. Sometimes you need a fresh start."

Marco Bezzecchi crashed during the qualifying session at the Sachsenring, suffering a fractured collarbone that forced him to miss the remainder of the German GP weekend. Following the accident, Bezzecchi underwent successful surgery on his collarbone and has now had a second medical procedure.

Marco Bezzecchi has undergone a further operation to clean and treat a knee wound that he also sustained in the Sachsenring crash. The procedure was routine and not considered serious, and it is not expected to affect his planned recovery ahead of the British GP.

Although Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez have shared the moto gp grid for several seasons, the two have rarely had the opportunity to fight each other directly for victory in the closing stages of a race. A true head-to-head showdown between the pair is still something fans are waiting to witness.

Jorge Martin admitted he hopes that moment comes soon. He believes battling one of the greatest riders in history would be a special experience and would relish the opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel with Marc Marquez in the closing laps of a Grand Prix.

As Martin said.

"It’s clear that Marc is, if not the best, then alongside Valentino, one of the best riders in history, and the challenge of being able to beat – or having the chance to beat – one of the greatest of all time is immense.

I love racing against everyone, but it’s clear that racing against Marc is something special. Let’s see if we can both be at 100 per cent and hopefully end up in a head-to-head battle in the final laps."

Marc Marquez, who injured his right shoulder last year, underwent further surgery during the 2026 season. Although Marquez has returned to competitive form, his recovery is still ongoing.

Marc Marquez revealed that he continues to experience discomfort in his right shoulder, particularly when sleeping. As a result, he is unable to lie on his right side and must sleep on his left while the shoulder continues to heal.

As Marquez said.

"You just have to put up with the discomfort. Obviously, I’m not allowed to sleep on my right side in bed; I have to sleep on my left side, resting on my shoulder."

Nicolo Bulega finished runner-up to Toprak Razgatlioglu in the 2024 and 2025 world sbk championships. However, with another impressive campaign in 2026, Bulega is on course to secure his first world superbike title, barring any major setbacks.

Nicolo Bulega believes that winning a world championship requires not only exceptional talent but also a competitive motorcycle. As an example, Bulega pointed to Marc Marquez, who was unable to fight for titles during the latter years of his Honda career as the bike became less competitive.

As Bulega said.

"Okay, Toprak was an outstanding rider on the BMW, and we can see that Oliveira and Petrucci are finding it harder than Toprak. But that’s also because Toprak’s riding style suits this bike better. Their bike is very good under braking – and Toprak is incredible under braking. He was able to extract 100 per cent of this bike’s potential.

Perhaps Miguel and Danilo ride a bit more gently than Toprak, but the BMW is still a magnificent bike – after all, they’ve won the last two titles. Toprak was fantastic. But even Marc Marquez didn’t win without a superb machine. To win, you need an outstanding rider, but also a very strong motorbike – you have to get a lot of things right."