Aprilia’ s bike is good, very, very good. Aprilia’ s riders are also good, very, very good and this season, Aprilia seem to have found the perfect recipe for success in the fastest game on two wheels. Upsetting the recent hierarchy in the game, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin took their second consecutive 1-2 at COTA. Returning to form after a prolonged injury layoff, a brilliant effort by the Aprilia duo now sees Martin leading the rankings, pouring large doses of cold water on the all rumours and wives tales circulating the internet that he was done. To his critics, the last two rounds have been a gloved finger raised as if to say, I am back and I am just as fast as I was when I won the World Championship. Jorge Martin’ s conversations with Aprilia over his recovery time may have been a bit spicy and, well, Italian at times but I suspect things are a little calmer now. Bez has been brilliant, just superb, despite an unfortunate DNF resulting in some valuable points being left in the sand. What has caught the attention of many is the fact that the dominance of the Ducati has been eroded in the off season as the other teams make the thousands of tiny tweaks to make up that fraction of a percent which is the difference between midfield and winning. Some of those improvements are still controversial and it is jet to be seen what the rest of the field will do in response but the racing so far this season has been so intense and close that 2026, despite some critics claiming it would be‘ treading water until the 2027 850cc rules’ is looking absolutely vintage. The passing, repassing, rubbing and racing has been off the charts – long may it continue. In comparison, did anyone manage to stomach watching an F1 race this season? No?.