Beating Marc Marquez even once in the 2025 MotoGP season is the bold challenge Aprilia Racing’s CEO Massimo Rivola has set for his team—and it’s stirring up plenty of excitement and debate. Rivola has openly declared that Aprilia aims to outpace the legendary Ducati rider in a direct head-to-head battle before the season wraps up. But here’s where it gets controversial: Marquez’s dominance has been nearly unshakable lately, making this goal both ambitious and a potential game-changer.
Aprilia’s factory rider, Marco Bezzecchi, came agonizingly close to ending Ducati’s stronghold during the recent San Marino Grand Prix. After a fierce, race-long duel, Bezzecchi missed victory by just 0.568 seconds against Marquez’s factory Ducati. This near-win wasn’t a fluke; it followed Bezzecchi’s breakthrough triumph at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone back in May, where he became the only rider this year to beat Ducati in dry conditions.
However, that Silverstone victory came with some caveats. Marquez had an unusually off day, finishing over six seconds behind in third place, and the win was also influenced by a mechanical failure from Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha, who had been comfortably leading. Plus, this was before Marquez’s incredible streak at Aragon, where he has claimed eight grand prix wins and as many sprint victories in just nine weekends—an almost unprecedented level of dominance.
Rivola is banking on Bezzecchi’s strong showing at Misano to inspire the entire Aprilia team in Noale. His goal is clear: to beat a fully in-form Marquez at least once before the season ends. “Right now, we’re trailing behind number 93, no doubt,” Rivola admitted after Misano. “But thanks to Marco’s determination, our mission is to try and beat him before the season’s over. Maybe just once, but that’s a target we need to believe in here at Noale.”
He continued, “Marco will get more chances, and we’ll have opportunities to battle not only Marc but other top riders too. I saw Pedro Acosta coming on strong before he faced a technical issue—he was really fast. We have to keep pushing because we’re still not the best out there, and that’s the benchmark we’re aiming for.”
One of Aprilia’s main objectives this season has been to develop a bike that performs consistently across a wide range of circuits. While the team has won races in each of the past three seasons, it has never managed to finish second in the constructors’ championship during that time. In 2022, Yamaha edged them out, followed by KTM in both 2023 and 2024.
Interestingly, Aprilia was the only manufacturer besides Ducati to win a grand prix last year, yet inconsistency cost them dearly—they ended up 25 points behind KTM in the battle for second place. Although Aprilia has made strides in creating a more balanced and versatile bike, this progress seems to have come at the expense of the advantage they once held on certain tracks.
For example, their performance in Barcelona was surprisingly underwhelming, especially considering they secured a 1-2 finish there just two years ago. Rivola explained, “It’s true that on tracks where we used to struggle, like Austria and Misano—those stop-and-go circuits—we’re now competitive. But on tracks where we were traditionally strong, like Barcelona, it’s unclear if we still hold that edge.”
He added, “I’m really curious to see how we perform in Indonesia and Phillip Island, especially on the very fast corners. It feels like the competition is tightening up on average at these venues.”
Rivola also pointed out a technical challenge: “Because our bike’s mechanical and electronic setups are quite different, especially on Fridays during FP1, we don’t immediately extract the best performance. We need more time to dial it in. Usually, Aprilia’s peak performance comes during the race itself, as we improve day by day, which bodes well for next year. But I’m eager to see how we fare in the upcoming Asian races.”
This raises an intriguing question for fans and experts alike: Can Aprilia truly overcome Marquez’s dominance, or is this goal more of a motivational mantra than a realistic target? And what does this say about the evolving dynamics of MotoGP competition? Do you think Aprilia’s approach will pay off, or is Marquez simply on another level? Share your thoughts and let’s get the debate rolling!
