Difficult weekend, but the standings smile
Marco Bezzecchi entered the Catalan GP weekend with only a one-point lead over Jorge Martin in the standings; leaving Barcelona instead the Rimini rider’s lead over his teammate has risen to 13 points despite the Catalan GP being by far Bezzecchi’s worst weekend of the season so far. Martin’s double zero – crashed in the Sprint and taken down by Raul Fernandez in the GP – combined with the two major crashes from which Bezzecchi managed to stay out, however, allowed #72 to get the most from the sixth place finish (which became fifth after the penalty imposed on Joan Mir for irregular front tire pressures) in which the Italian Aprilia rider ended the race.
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Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP Bezzecchi’s first thought, like that of all other riders, went to Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco and their health conditions: “Today was a tough day – commented Bezzecchi – I hope both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco are okay. Alex’s crash was really scary. There were motorcycle parts flying everywhere, I even got hit by some while I was further back. Let’s hope he is fine. I also saw Zarco’s crash up close because it happened right next to me. It was not a great day, a weekend of suffering. But in suffering, we managed to bring home the maximum”.
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“Aprilia struggling? No, just me”
When asked about Aprilia’s difficulties in Catalonia, Bez answered honestly, emphasizing that actually the only one from the Noale squad who struggled a lot was himself, even though the final standings say otherwise: “Aprilia struggling? Actually, it was probably my problem – explained Bezzecchi – Martin was faster, Fernandez and Ogura too. So in the end, it was mostly me who suffered. On Friday I felt good, but then I plateaued and couldn’t improve anymore while the others kept getting better. I was always consistent in the low 1:40s but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Trying to do more, I suffered even more. In the Sprint I struggled and went backwards, while today in the first start I was managing the tire but then I had an issue with the brake lever. I couldn’t adjust it well and had a couple of long slides. But I don’t think I could have made much more of a difference. Surely with the medium rear tire I would have suffered less front tire wear. This was the best I could do, today went well given how the day had started,” he concluded.
