Bezzecchi responds to Bagnaia: “A different sport on the medium tire? I don’t think so; it’s only Friday.”

Pecco Bagnaia has named him the man to beat at Lusail, but Marco Bezzecchi is not willing to accept the favourite’s tag. After setting the third-fastest time in Qatar’s pre-qualifying session, the Aprilia rider played down the Ducati rider’s praise for his pace on the medium tyre: «I don’t think so», he said, pointing out that it was only Friday.

The rider from Rimini ended the day behind Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez, with the former also setting a new lap record. But more than his single-lap pace, it was the RS-GP’s performance over race distance that caught the eye and drew his rivals’ attention.

It was Bagnaia himself, his future Aprilia teammate, who had made the bold claim just beforehand: «Bezzecchi was in a league of his own on the medium», said the Ducati rider, who has found his smile again in Lusail, as we reported in Pecco Bagnaia looks reborn in Qatar: "I expected it, and here’s why". Bezzecchi preferred to play it down, explaining that he had completed only a few laps on that compound and struggled more when he switched to the soft. "I felt good on the medium straight away, but it’s only Friday. Don’t worry, tomorrow everything will be more standard. At the end of the day, I did five laps on the medium; it’s only Friday, and there’s still a lot of work to do. When it was time to fit the soft, I struggled more, as usual. I felt better on the medium."

The real satisfaction for the rider from Romagna comes from comparing this season with last, when Qatar proved to be a difficult track for Aprilia. «Last year we struggled a lot, so I didn’t know what to expect. When we got out on track, I really enjoyed myself», he said, thanking Noale for the work it has put in over time.

Bezzecchi believes he deserves some of the credit for the progress, too. In 2025, there were two or three sections of the track he just couldn’t get to grips with, whereas this year he has felt comfortable from his first laps. Most of the work has gone into the electronics, although the bike is still «a little nervous». Overall, though, the verdict is positive: «I have to say it’s been a good start».

Speaking about the RS-GP’s behaviour, which tends to move around more than other bikes, Bezzecchi admitted he could not make a precise comparison because he had not ridden other prototypes for a long time. His bike, he explained, has a restless nature, especially at the start of a weekend, when the team begins with the setup baseline prepared back at the factory. Then, session by session, they manage to make it more manageable. «That’s just its character, and you have to accept it as it is», he concluded.

Saturday will show whether the pace seen in practice is genuine or whether, as he suggests, the field will close up. With Di Giannantonio and Marquez ahead and Bagnaia right behind, Aprilia’s No. 72 is nonetheless among the most feared bikes heading into qualifying.

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