The 2026 MotoGP title race reaches the Australian Grand Prix with Jorge Martin identifying three genuine protagonists: himself, Marc Marquez and Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. Eight riders remain mathematically eligible, but Martin sees the leading trio as the group most likely to shape the championship outcome.

Martin leads Marquez, Ducati’s reigning champion, by only two points. Bezzecchi sits 46 points from the top, with five rounds and a maximum of 185 points still available. That keeps the Aprilia rider firmly within reach. Aprilia has indicated that it will not impose team orders while its riders remain mathematically in contention. Ai Ogura is 96 points off the lead and Raul Fernandez is 119 behind. Ogura will remain inside the mathematical threshold whatever happens at Phillip Island, while Fernandez must finish Sunday no more than 148 points adrift of the leader to stay eligible.

A first RS-GP appearance at Phillip Island

The Australian circuit presents a specific challenge for Martin. He will make his first appearance there on the Aprilia RS-GP, having missed last year’s Phillip Island round through injury, as did Marquez. Aprilia still took both headline victories: Bezzecchi won the Sprint and Raul Fernandez the Grand Prix. This weekend’s event is expected to be Phillip Island’s final MotoGP round, giving the meeting an added sense of occasion.

Bezzecchi arrives after a strong showing in Indonesia, although a possible double victory was lost after he received a double long-lap penalty for colliding with Marquez. The Mandalika Grand Prix also began with a slower first-corner clash between Bezzecchi and Fernandez. They later put that incident behind them by joining an Aprilia sweep of the top four in the race. With the team declining to establish an internal order while its riders remain title-eligible, the championship fight retains a three-way shape heading into Phillip Island.