Rivola hits back at Marquez over Aprilia team orders claim

Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola has responded to Marc Marquez's remarks about team orders at Aprilia, saying Marquez and Ducati are the ones playing team games at home. The comments followed Marco Bezzecchi's late pass on Ai Ogura for third in the Malaysian Grand Prix sprint, after which Marquez said Ogura was trying to stay ahead of him to protect the podium.

Rivola pointed to the Phillip Island sprint, when Alex Marquez said he would not make a risky move on his brother for the win. Ducati's Gigi Dall'Igna said the manufacturer tells its riders not to get into trouble with riders of the same brand, and that the situation has generally gone smoothly since the start of the championship.

Marquez now leads the standings by 44 points after winning in Malaysia, with Bezzecchi 67 points behind and able to take the title in Qatar this weekend.