On Sunday at the Red Bull US GP, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) set a new modern era record on his way to a fifth Grand Prix win in a row. By Lap 4, he had become the rider to lead the most consecutive MotoGP laps ever in the modern era – breaking Jorge Lorenzo’s record of 103 from 2015. By the end of the race the new ceiling was Bezzecchi’s 121 laps.
The run began in Portimao at the 2025 Portuguese GP. It continued in Valencia all the way to third in the overall standings behind only Champion Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). In Buriram to begin 2026, Bezzecchi took a lap record pole… and then binned it in the Tissot Sprint. After the pace shown and the pole position record, the pressure was on to bounce back on Sunday, and that he did. On Sundays since he hasn’t been beaten and he’s not had a single rider ahead of him crossing the on any lap of a Grand Prix.
As stats go, consecutive laps led is a strong one, but it is a geek one. There are more. He is the third rider in the modern era – along with Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez – to win five Grands Prix in a row, and only the eighth MotoGP rider to ever accomplish it, alongside Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Mick Doohan, and Geoff Duke.
A big warning to his rivals in 2026 is that he’s also the first rider to win the first three races of the season since Marc Marquez did it in 2014, and the first Italian to do that since Valentino Rossi in 2001. So Bezzecchi leads the Championship – you may be thinking ‘of course’ – but it’s actually by only four points.
So far in 2026, the chink in his armour has been the Sprint. In Buriram he crashed out, and in Brazil he ended up off the Saturday rostrum as Marc Marquez duelled Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) at the front and Jorge Martin – Bezzechi’s teammate – got the better of him. On Saturday at COTA, it was a mixture of both as Martin took the win and Bezzecchi crashed out. Can he iron out those Saturday deficits to start increasing that lead?
Jerez will be an interesting one as the field rolls back onto even more familiar turf. Buriram saw the field test before. Brazil was entirely new. COTA is a unique challenge. The next run of venues are some of the most classic – and Bezzecchi, and Aprilia, will be aiming to keep their historic run going. The outright record is 10 in a row – Marc Marquez’s start to the 2014 season – although it’s unlikely that’s the goal. We know it’s early, but a serious run at the Championship now seems a realistic aim for both the #72 and Aprilia… so stay tuned to see how the European classics play out!