In the latest episode of “Fast By Prosecco,” Carlo Pernat discusses the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen, starting with a fact that is now clear to him: the World Championship is wide open. Aprilia is a force to be reckoned with on fast circuits, but mistakes continue to weigh heavily on the team. And, in this scenario, according to the manager from Liguria, Marc Marquez also remains a mystery to be unraveled.
Here’s the commentary from our legendary Carletto, as always, as he sips a glass of excellent Prosecco DOC.
“Given how hot it was, it didn’t even feel like the Assen Grand Prix. A Grand Prix where you can normally experience everything in a single day. I remember, one day, when I experienced rain, sun, and snow. Believe me, it’s not a lie. It really happened.
But this was an incredible Grand Prix. Truly. This is a year where you absolutely can’t predict anything, because surprises are always the order of the day. But the certainty—more than the surprises—is that Aprilia is really a cut above Ducati on fast circuits. That’s a fact. We’ve seen it on previous fast circuits. This was a fast circuit, and there were three Aprilias on the podium, no less. And who were they? Ogura, Fernandez, and Martin.
Who’s missing from the line-up? Marco Bezzecchi is missing. And that’s a bit of a cause for concern. It's a bit of cause for concern because Marco was used to being on his own at Aprilia last year. No offense to test rider Savadori, but he was racing alone, with all of the falls by Martin—who was sidelined—and all the messes Martin was dealing with, including his desire to leave. So he was the head of Aprilia, he was number one, he drove the team forward, and the team drove him forward, too. It was a wonderful environment.
But he had no internal competition. Then Martin got injured. So the second half of 2025 was fantastic, but without many challengers for Marco. That’s something we perhaps didn’t think about. This year, he started out determined to win the World Championship, rightly so, coming off a wonderful year. But his teammate —his name is Martin—is there, and, in my opinion, that put a lot of pressure on him. Martin has put more pressure on him than Marquez has, because he’s the man to beat on the home turf. And he’s making mistakes that aren’t like him. These are critical mistakes.
Rivola told him as much. It’s already a good thing he’s in great shape and didn’t get hurt, because these are the kinds of falls where you’d normally break something. And he’s lost the World Championship. He’s lost the lead in the World Championship. Martin is now in the lead. But the man of the day is definitely Ai Ogura. This Japanese rider who never speaks, who doesn’t do any media appearances, is truly impressive.
I remember when he didn’t want to move to Honda three years ago, from the Moto2 to the MotoGP, because he didn’t think the Honda was competitive. It’s rare for a young rider to turn down a move to the MotoGP. But he made the right call, and now he’s made the move . I don’t understand his decision for next year, though... to ride a Yamaha. Frankly, leaving Aprilia under these circumstances—in a team like that, where he’s set up so well—leaves me very perplexed. But I hope he makes the right call and that Yamaha doesn’t do next season what it’s doing this year. Otherwise, he’d be throwing away a chance to win the World Championship.
It’s a World Championship that’s wide open. Open in every sense. There are seven riders within fifty or sixty points of each other. I’d say anyone can win the World Championship. First, because there are countless falls and countless problems. And I’ll say it again, there are too many races between the Sprint and the MotoGP events. There are forty-four starts between Saturday and Sunday, and that’s too many. You see the riders… look at Alex Marquez and the fall he took, or Aldeguer with a broken vertebra. They’ll decide today in Madrid whether to operate on him or not. In short, these injuries are also due to this whole situation.
But the World Championship is still wide open, despite all these accidents and despite the fact that there’s always something new happening every time. It's to be said that Marquez is struggling. Marquez is struggling. We have to say it. He’s struggling physically, in my opinion. I’m convinced of it, even though many don’t think so, but I also think he’s struggling with the bike. Because this bike never does what you want it to do. You always have to get it under control with different maneuvers. Look at Bagnaia. Sometimes he seems to be on track, sometimes he doesn’t. Look at Di Giannantonio. Every now and then, he puts in a great race and is right there in the fight for the World Championship, because he’s currently third. I found Di Giannantonio in good spirits. Those results are what matter.
But I’ll say it again, Marquez is also struggling with the bike. Two battles, his personal one—a physical one, unfortunately for him—and the bike’s, which he still needs to figure out how to get right. He also made a choice in this Grand Prix. He was the only one, along with his brother, to use the soft rear tire, while everyone else used the hard tire. These are the kinds of choices you make when you’re in trouble, but in technical trouble. Normally, a tire change is a wild card, one that riders in the back, in the last rows, always play to try to make a move. Maybe he’s a bit confused in his head, too. Let’s wait for the next race at the Sachsenring, then there will be a well-deserved break, which he needs more than anyone else.”