Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez have rejected the idea that a meeting involving Aprilia’s four RS-GP riders before the Phillip Island Grand Prix was arranged to discuss team orders. Aprilia has said publicly that such instructions will not be used until a rider is mathematically out of the title fight. At that stage, Fernandez was the only rider who could potentially reach that point after Sunday’s race.

The issue became more prominent after Mandalika. Aprilia had a clear performance advantage in Indonesia, but Jorge Martin did not increase his championship margin over Marc Marquez. Bezzecchi and Fernandez collided at Turn 1 in the Sprint, while Martin lost the lead amid tyre-pressure concerns and eventually finished fourth after a late mistake. Sunday brought a complete Aprilia sweep of the top four: Bezzecchi won, Fernandez was runner-up and Martin was third among the four RS-GPs. Martin therefore left Indonesia with the same two-point advantage over Marquez that he had held before the event.

A working discussion, according to the riders

Bezzecchi described the Phillip Island gathering as an ordinary working meeting between the factory Aprilia operation and Trackhouse, covering the situations that could arise during a race weekend. Fernandez offered a more relaxed description, calling it “a coffee”. Bezzecchi then put the number at “two or three coffees”. Their comments amounted to a rejection of the suggestion that the gathering had produced an agreement to alter the order on track.

The question still matters because Martin is Aprilia’s leading title contender against Marquez. Fernandez was racing with a broken finger and was more than 100 points behind Martin in the standings, prompting some observers to argue that he should have given second place to the championship leader at Mandalika. Before Phillip Island, Bezzecchi was 46 points behind Martin, with a maximum of 185 points available over the final five rounds. Ai Ogura trailed by 96 points and Fernandez by 119. The RS-GP was expected to be the machine to beat again, although forecast rain could change the competitive picture.