Could Round 1 have panned out better for Aprilia Racing in Thailand? Well, yes. Marco Bezzecchi’s Tissot Sprint crash still hurt after Sunday’s dominant Grand Prix win, but if you’d have served that weekend to the Noale factory on a plate before we turned a wheel in anger on Friday, I think the Italian marque would have feasted away quite happily without thinking twice.

Before the 2026 curtain-raiser, pre-season was very promising for Aprilia. Especially when Jorge Martin returned to the factory fold and showed signs of the 2024 World Champion immediately, despite undergoing two further surgeries in the winter and missing the Sepang Test. On the other side of the box, Bezzecchi was rapid over one lap, and in race trim, while in the Trackhouse MotoGP ranks, Ai Ogura unravelled the best Sprint sim of the lot. Raul Fernandez was struggling a tad more, but the 2025 Australian GP winner was far from slow.

However, as Bezzecchi was keen to point out, testing is only testing. Great insight, right? Testing is in fact testing, but on a serious note, the 2025 bronze medallist was right to make the point. Even if we wanted the #72 to jump on the Aprilia hype train with us, Bez’s feet remained bolted to the platform.

And for good reason, too. Ducati still looked like the manufacturer to beat. Just. You can't just rule out the champions after five days of testing, but the gap between the Italian factories had clearly closed last season when Bezzecchi and Fernandez began to pick up victories. And over the winter months, Aprilia’s hard work has seemingly paid off handsomely to edge them closer.

Still, Ducati have been the dominant MotoGP force for several seasons for a reason. And, importantly, they have the seven-time MotoGP World Champion at the controls. On the other side of the red box, there’s also a two-time MotoGP World Champion doing his thing. 

With that being said, however, Aprilia couldn't have done much more to announce themselves as a real threat to the throne at the beginning of the new season. Bezzecchi’s Grand Prix win meant he became the first Aprilia rider to win three GPs in a row after his Portimao and Valencia victories at the end of play last year. It’s the first time Bezzecchi has won three MotoGP races in a row, and it’s his fourth with Aprilia, meaning he overtakes Aleix Espargaro as the most successful Aprilia rider in MotoGP. 

Fernandez’s Sunday P3 meant the #25 bagged back-to-back podiums for the first time in MotoGP, while Martin’s impressive P4 was his equal-best result with the factory. Ogura, who was disappointed with P5 after a tricky opening half to the Grand Prix, equalled his best MotoGP result, and all this meant Aprilia saw their four riders finish inside the top five of a MotoGP Grand Prix for the very first time. Progress. 

Of course, it isn't an Aprilia rider who spearheads the early title race, is it? In orange, Pedro Acosta also made sure Red Bull KTM Factory Racing thoroughly enjoyed their 2026 Thailand outing. Let's not forget the Sprint winner and Sunday’s silver medallist heads to Brazil as the MotoGP World Championship leader after sprinkling some of his magic at the Chang International Circuit. The #37 is seven points ahead of Bezzecchi and nine points clear of third place Fernandez. Martin and Ogura sit P4 and P5, with Acosta’s teammate Brad Binder sixth.

The first Ducati in the standings after Round 1, then? Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in P7. Ducati’s magnificent, record-breaking consecutive podium finishes streak of 88 came to an end on Sunday, and with ‘Diggia’ finishing as the top Ducati rider in P6, it meant no Ducati rider crossed the line in the top five since the 2020 European GP. 

Ducati’s unbelievable run was always going to end at some point, but not many would have predicted that being the case in Buriram. And while the reigning Champions leave Thailand a little bruised, you'd be naive to think they aren't going to come out swinging when we land in Brazil for Round 2. After that, we then head up to Marc Marquez territory, otherwise known as the Circuit of The Americas, for Round 3. 

It's after the next two rounds that we can really take stock of the state of play in 2026. However, at the same time, what's unquestionable is Aprilia look ready to engage in a year-long title battle with Ducati. Acosta and KTM also look up to the task. 

There’s one mighty journey ahead in 2026 still, with 21 more unpredictable stops on the MotoGP express train awaiting. Ducati are far from down and out, but as we see Goiânia approaching, the Aprilia carriage is sounding like the most exciting one to be in for now, with the red corner needing a response in Brazil. All this while KTM and Acosta sip the leftover bubbly from their Buriram success at the front. 

Hopefully, as fans first and foremost, we get to see plenty more of what Buriram served us. The fastest riders in the world engaging in breathless, two-wheeled battle on different machinery. MotoGP at its finest. Bring on Brazil!