Marco Bezzecchi in “no rush” despite MotoGP title talk

Tipped as a 2026 MotoGP title contender, Marco Bezzecchi insists his focus is purely on making a stronger start to the new season than he managed a year ago.

After delivering Aprilia’s best-ever MotoGP campaign and emerging as Ducati’s closest challenger during his debut year on the RS-GP, the Italian is conscious that finding the final details can often be the hardest task.

“Last year we built a nice base for the bike and hopefully we can use this base and try to improve it,” Bezzecchi said at Thursday’s team launch.

“When you have to make big steps, it's strange, but it's maybe easier. And then when you are fighting to find the last details, it's much more difficult.

“So I will try to use the experience that I gained from trying many pieces last year, learning a lot about how I feel the modification on the bike every time.”

Bezzecchi finished 2025 with six race victories, split evenly between grands prix and sprints, but admits both rider and machine must still improve.

“For sure, we both have to improve. Me and the bike. In the last part of 2025, we reached a good level and I was able to be quick.

“But it's also true that Sepang, for example, is a track where we suffer a bit. So I'm curious to go there [for pre-season testing] and to try to understand if we already made another step.

“Basically, in MotoGP, you always have to make steps day by day. You can never stop.”

After struggling for consistency early in the year, Bezzecchi burst through with a breakthrough victory at Silverstone and went on to score more points than any rider in the second half of the season.

“The perfect bike doesn't exist, so we are always trying to improve,” he said.

“At the beginning we were missing a bit of stability. This was the main issue. Then we improved the stability, but we missed the qualifying. Then we improved qualifying, but we missed how to manage the rear tyre.

“So overall, everything was improving, but then there was a new small problem. Then we solved this. This is normal in racing. So we never focus on only one item. We always try to work on the complete package.”

Bezzecchi ended the season with back-to-back grand prix victories, although reigning champion Marc Marquez was absent due to injuries sustained in their Mandalika clash.

Asked if that late momentum raises expectations for a title push in 2026, Bezzecchi was cautious.

“Well, the target for me, basically, is to try to start in a good way. That is what we missed last year.

“So it could be fantastic to start in a competitive way, fighting for top fives – top three if it's possible is even better, of course.

“But I don't want to be in a rush. 

"I want to just start from the Malaysia test with calmness, staying focused and enjoying finally the bike again. Then, after a couple of races, we can set a clear target.”

The official Sepang test takes place from February 3–5.