JAKARTA - MotoGP defending champion Marc Marquez revealed three names who are likely to be his toughest competitors in the hunt for the title in 2026.
The racer nicknamed The Baby Alien said that his younger brother Alex Marquez will appear as his main rival in 2026 after last year he managed to finish in second place in the riders' final standings.
"Then I'll put Francesco Bagnaia, who is a two-time world champion and then there's Aprilia, who finished very strong with Marco Bezzecchi and it will be hard to beat," he said as quoted by Crash.
Bezzecchi managed to score more points than anyone else during the second half of the season on his way to locking down third place in the final standings. Only, Marquez was absent in the last four rounds since the Mandalika MotoGP crash.
Pedro Acosta of KTM followed in fourth place and Bagnaia had to settle for fifth in a season that was less than satisfactory for him as he failed to break his teammate Marquez's dominance.
Marquez admitted that the pressure would be huge to fight for the eighth premier class title in his career, which would automatically equal Giacomo Agostini's record.
"If you wear the red jersey, you have to fight for the title. You are in a team that has won in recent years, so everything is in your hands," he said.
Marquez will return to MotoGP for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery last year at the Sepang test, Malaysia, which is scheduled to take place from February 3-5, 2026.
The first MotoGP race of the 2026 season will start at the Buriram Circuit, Thailand, on February 27 to March 1, 2026. In total, there are 22 series held, including Brazil's comeback to the calendar.
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