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Aprilia riders Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez have strongly dismissed suggestions that a meeting between all four RS-GP riders at Phillip Island was intended to impose MotoGP team orders.
The factory team has already officially stated that tactical instructions will not be enforced as long as a rider mathematically remains in world championship contention—a scenario that, following Sunday's race, could potentially apply only to Fernandez.
However, serious debate erupted over whether such a strategy should have already been implemented at Mandalika. Aprilia enjoyed complete technical superiority there, yet failed to help Jorge Martin extend his championship lead over Ducati's Marc Marquez.
Following a clash between Bezzecchi and Fernandez at Turn 1 in the sprint, Martin was forced to relinquish the lead due to tyre pressure issues before an error dropped him down to fourth.
On Sunday, Aprilia responded emphatically by locking out the top four positions in the Grand Prix, though Martin was only third among them, finishing behind race winner Bezzecchi and runner-up Fernandez. That meant Martin left Indonesia—a circuit where the RS-GP outperformed Ducati—holding the same slender two-point cushion over Marquez that he had arrived with.
Fernandez was riding with a broken finger and could not challenge Bezzecchi after being overtaken, while already trailing Martin by over 100 points in the standings. This sparked arguments that the Trackhouse rider should have yielded second place to the title contender.
Asked by journalist Matt Birt whether team tactics were discussed ahead of the Phillip Island weekend, Bezzecchi said:
"No, it was just a completely normal meeting. We constantly work together with the Trackhouse team. Aprilia always collaborates with them, and their input is extremely important for us. It's only natural that we sit down sometimes, have a chat and discuss the current situation. For now, that's all it was."
Fernandez added with a smile: "It wasn't even a meeting, we just had a coffee, right?!"
"Yeah, we had coffee," agreed Bezzecchi. "Even two or three coffees!"
Last season, Bezzecchi and Fernandez took a victory each at Phillip Island, capitalizing on the absence of the injured Martin and Marquez.
Aprilia's RS-GP is once again expected to be among the leading favourites for the upcoming race weekend, though rain forecasts could reshuffle the order.
Bezzecchi currently trails Martin by 46 points with a maximum of 185 points up for grabs across the final five rounds. Ai Ogura is 96 points adrift, while Fernandez sits 119 points off the summit.
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