Aprilia’s double podium puts it at the heart of the title fight

Aprilia placed Jorge Martin first and Marco Bezzecchi third in the Sprint, a result that restores its lead in the constructors’ standings. Bezzecchi followed Marc Marquez in the opening third before yielding to Martin on lap seven. Acosta’s crash promoted him to the podium, 1.675 seconds behind the winner. The result prevents Aprilia from depending on one rider on a decisive day.

In the riders’ championship, Bezzecchi remains third, 38 points behind Martin: the podium limits the damage without erasing his Misano crash. Aprilia’s Sunday task has two parts. Martin must defend a very small lead, while Bezzecchi needs to stay close enough to preserve two options in the fight. The Sprint confirmed that the RS-GP can pass, hold its pace and place both factory bikes ahead of almost the entire Ducati group.