Is this Marc Marquez’s biggest challenger in MotoGP 2026?

Aprilia has revealed the 2026 MotoGP bike it hopes can challenge Marc Marquez and Ducati for the 2026 world title.

Marquez and Ducati dominated the 2025 MotoGP season with 11 grand prix wins from 17 starts, but Aprilia grew through the season, winning the last two grands prix in succession and four in total in 2025.

Three of those wins were courtesy of Marco Bezzecchi, who took Aprilia’s first top-three finish in a MotoGP season, overhauling the struggling Francesco Bagnaia late on.

Bezzecchi enters his second season as a factory Aprilia rider as one of the preseason title favourites for the first time in his career, whereas former champion Jorge Martin is heading into a year of rebuilding after several injuries in 2025 that saw him finish only four races from the 22 held.

Aprilia’s 2026 bike shows little change in the livery at first glance, the same red, black, and purple colours remaining. The lion in the final 'a' of the Aprilia text the factory says is a part of its racing DNA. We guess we'll just have to take their word for it. The new silver, or dark grey, additions feel fairly 1990s, which we won't complain about, although if they remind us of anything its a Suzuki RGV 250, which we're almost certain was not the intention.

On the other hand, there are two aerodynamic updates to the bike in this launch version of it that are carried over from the Valencia test. These are an updated rear wing with large endplates that extend down to cover the sides of the main tail unit, and a new fairing that brings dual-plane front wings similar to those used by KTM in the first half of last season, as well as new downwash ducts.

Aprilia will kick off its 2026 MotoGP testing programme in Sepang on 29–31 January in the Sepang Shakedown with test rider Lorenzo Savadori. The race riders will be on-track for the first time at the Malaysian circuit from 3–5 February for the first official test.