Aprilia passes the test at Jerez, Bezzecchi admits: "I wasn't feeling great physically

Solid race by Bezzecchi and Aprilia in Spain; the world championship leader can be satisfied: here is his analysis.

Jerez hadn’t been an ideal track for the Noale team in recent years. In 2022 the only podium came from Aleix Espargaro, third at the finish. After the dominance shown in the Thailand-Brazil-United States triple-header, the first Grand Prix in Europe was a very important test, and it’s fair to say Aprilia performed well. The sprint race is hard to judge, given that a bit of everything happened, but in the main race all four RS-GP26s finished in the top 6. The best was Marco Bezzecchi’s, second behind winner Alex Marquez and still leader of the overall standings, 11 points ahead of Jorge Martin (fourth in the race).

Worth noting, even if his record of consecutive laps led in a race (21) has ended, since today he was never in P1. Statistics only matter so much; for him it was crucial to secure more big points in the title fight. Also worth adding: this is his sixth consecutive podium in the top class and the fourth in a row since the start of the season. He is the first rider with 4 podiums in the first 4 Grands Prix of a season since 2016 (the previous mark belongs to Marc Marquez).

The rider from Romagna gave an interview to Sky Sport expressing his satisfaction with his Sunday race in Andalusia: "I’m very happy, it was a beautiful race. Not super expected, in the sense that this was a weekend where we struggled a bit. I gave everything I had to do my best. Unfortunately, it was tough to beat Alex today, but I’m very satisfied. Monday there’s an important test and we need to work well tonight too, trying to analyze everything and make a good plan for tomorrow."

Alex Marquez was superior, unbeatable at Jerez, but Bezzecchi did his best to achieve the maximum result within his reach: "At the start I tried to stay attached to the Marquez brothers - he recounts - because I knew they were fast. On the first lap they immediately stretched away slightly, then I came back and there was Marc’s mistake. For 10 laps I was a bit elastic with Alex, then he gave me a tug when I made a mistake at turn 1. In the end, mainly to gain on Diggia, I was also clawing back a bit on Alex. But he had a little more and managed the whole race better. In the finale I didn’t want to risk too much. I pushed for the entire race, but I kept a margin for the last 6-7 laps."

The number 72 of the Aprilia Racing team revealed that he didn’t race in the best condition: "I wasn’t feeling great physically, I had to struggle a bit. I didn’t really hurt myself in the sprint crash, but today my stomach wasn’t feeling so good."

Compared to the first Grands Prix, Bezzecchi admits he didn’t have the same feeling, mainly because he couldn’t carry out the work he had planned and because others (Alex Marquez and the Gresini team) did better: "I had some good sensations - he explains - but I didn’t feel fully in place. Unfortunately, losing Saturday due to the weather didn’t really help us try to sort ourselves out. Alex and his team were better at finding the setup right away. On Friday afternoon we focused on working a bit more with the soft, since I usually struggle a bit more in the Sprint. We took for granted that we could then work with the medium on Saturday morning, but the weather kind of cut our legs. Anyway, I’m happy, because today was a good race after yesterday’s vicissitudes."