Marc Marquez faces new challenge as Aprilia consider changing title strategy
Marquez may face a new threat from Aprilia (Credit: Apex Agency)
Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
Aprilia’s technical director, Fabiano Sterlacchini, has admitted it won’t be long before we start seeing team orders at the Italian team.
Aprilia entered the Indonesian Grand Prix as huge favourites, but left in almost exactly the same position compared to riders’ championship rival Marc Marquez.
Jorge Martin began the weekend two points ahead of the Spaniard at the top of the standings, but dropped back in the sprint and could only manage third in the Grand Prix.
That left him with the same two-point lead over Marquez, who won the sprint after Marco Bezzecchi crashed with fellow Aprilia-powered rider Raul Fernandez.
Bezzecchi went on to win the Grand Prix, but overall it meant Marquez lost zero points to Martin and just three to Bezzecchi during a weekend where Aprilia were expected to cash in.
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Before the weekend, CEO Massimo Rivola suggested team orders would only come into effect once one rider was out of the championship.
However, Sterlacchini has claimed things have been brought forward after an Indonesian Grand Prix full of wasted opportunities.
Martin recovered his lead on Sunday, but it wasn't enough overall (Credit: Apex Agency)
Aprilia admit team orders could be discussed within weeks
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He commented: "It's a good problem to have; it's positive to have these kinds of problems.
“As Massimo said, at the moment our riders have complete freedom, although, obviously, we are starting to talk amongst ourselves to give some guidelines and avoid problems.
“Unfortunately, we've seen that the sprint incident is part of the game; even if you try to clarify the roles, the possibilities, and the risks, sometimes something can still happen.
“We haven't set a deadline, but in a few races, the time might come to discuss things with Massimo and define team orders without any restrictions.
“Right now, we're quite far behind; there are a lot of points at stake, and anything can happen. We believe we can still allow some freedom, but I don't know for how long.”
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Aprilia dominate Mandalika but fail to make major title gains
Aprilia finished the Grand Prix in all of the top four places, with Fernandez in second and Ai Ogura in fourth.
The result showed just how well suited their bike was to the Mandalika track, and how well Ducati’s Marquez did out of the weekend.
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Giving his take, the nine-time champion said: "It's a perfect weekend.
“I'm super happy not to have lost a single point to Martín this weekend and only three to Bezzecchi. If you'd told me that on Thursday, I would have jumped for joy, so we have to be happy.
"I knew how to suffer, I knew how to be the first Ducati, and I knew how to navigate a chaotic weekend to salvage what I could."
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