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Pablo Nieto expresses confidence that Marc Marquez can close the gap to Marco Bezzecchi in the 2026 MotoGP title race, despite Marquez's slow start this season.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Pablo Nieto still has confidence in Marc Marquez closing the gap to Marco Bezzecchi in the 2026 MotoGP title race.
Despite winning the world championship last season, Marc Marquez has not started the season on the strongest note this year.
The Ducati rider finds himself 36 points behind Marco Bezzecchi, as Aprilia have been dominant to start 2026.
Marquez looked worried at the United States Grand Prix, partly due to the injuries he sustained during his FP1 crash. And it led to another poor performance during the race.
Even though injury concerns are affecting Ducatiâs early-season form, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto is standing by his view that Marquez remains the favourite for the championship.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
VR46 team boss Pablo Nieto has had his say on the championship fight between Marquez and Bezzecchi, giving his take in an interview with Diario Sport.
While Bezzecchi has made a strong start to the season, opening up a healthy gap at the top of the standings, Nieto is still backing Marquez.
âMarc is Marc. Obviously, I think heâs still the favourite. I still consider him the favourite because, even though he doesnât have the number one on his fairing, heâs the world champion.
âHeâs the one who really made the difference last year, we know heâs coming back from an injury, and heâs the rider to beat.
âAlthough Bezzecchi is in fantastic form right now and heâs having a great season with Aprilia, I still think Marc MĂĄrquez is the rider to beat.â
Marquez suffered a dislocated finger following an FP1 crash at COTA earlier this season. While there were hopes that it would not impact his season too much, it has become clear that there was some fallout in terms of form and fitness.
It hasnât stopped him from performing altogether, though. His worst result came during round four in Argentina, where he placed 7th while also picking up three podiums throughout rounds two through six.
Still, Marquez knows that if he wants to close down Bezzecchi this year, then both his performances and health will need to improve quickly before more ground is lost early in 2026.
Speaking further in the interview, Nieto praised the work Aprilia has put into their bike but said he didnât think they had a major edge over Ducati.
âAprilia has been a step ahead in the first three races. I think itâs more about the overall package. Both Marco (Bezzecchi) and MartĂn are in great form.
âIâve seen Marco especially since last year, when he also won the last two races; heâs starting to feel really comfortable with the bike.
âAprilia has worked very well; aerodynamically, theyâre constantly doing different things, and it seems to be working, but I donât think theyâre that much ahead of Ducati at the moment.
âNow weâre going back to Jerez, where itâs always been said that the championship starts in Europe. Although I donât entirely agree with that, itâs true that we start in Europe, and after four or five races, you start to see what the general direction of the championship will be.â
He added that now things were moving to Europe for Jerez, where Marquez is at home and will no doubt be looking to make up ground on Bezzecchi.
Read more:
Pablo Nieto backed Marc Marquez, believing he can catch Marco Bezzecchi in the title race.
Marc Marquez won the world championship last season.
Marc Marquez has not started the season on a strong note.
Marco Bezzecchi is currently a competitor in the MotoGP title race that Marc Marquez is aiming to catch.
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