Bezzecchi soars at Assen; the only sour note is a fine: what happened

The ugly epilogue of his GP in Brno didn’t bring down the Rimini rider, who feels at home on the historic TT Circuit: fastest time and also a financial penalty.

Marco Bezzecchi seems to have put aside what happened in the Czech Republic, suffered no psychological backlash, and started very strongly at Assen. Fastest in FP1 and fastest in the Pre-qualifying, he’s looking good both on a single lap and in race pace. He appears to be the weekend favorite, but the other Aprilias are also fast and you can never underestimate the Ducati riders, starting with Marc Marquez. No points are awarded on Friday; Aprilia has laid solid foundations to go for a full haul, but there’s still work to be done.

The rider from Romagna spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP and said he was satisfied with how today’s two sessions went: "It was a good day, I’m happy. The bike performed well right from the start, I set off really pumped and felt good. In the afternoon it was very hot, we struggled in some areas and not in others, all in all a solid Friday. I had a lot of fun."

It was very hot at Assen—did that help Aprilia? Bezzecchi explained the situation: "With the heat I struggled a bit in some riding aspects, like corner entry. In the afternoon it took me two or three laps to interpret things better compared to the morning, when it was a bit cooler. I don’t think it’s thanks to the heat that Aprilia suffers less; I believe our bike behaves well in the fast sections. There are lots of movements in the direction changes, but in fast corners it works well. The rivals will come, we need to keep working well."

The day’s leader and current MotoGP championship leader was also asked about his excellent T4: "I don’t want to be wrong— he replied —but I think Ogura did T4 better than I did. Mine is good anyway, but I struggle a bit in the final chicane. I’m better before that." There are certainly details to sort out, but Bezzecchi is in great form in the Netherlands.

The only sour note on Bezzecchi’s Friday at Assen was the €2,000 fine he received after FP1 for performing a start procedure incorrectly. It has been clearly indicated to riders that they can carry out practice starts without having another bike stopped in front of them. The riders positioned at the front set off first; those behind must wait.

Specifically, there was a violation of Article 3.3.2.2 of the FIM Regulations and the Stewards Panel duly sanctioned the Aprilia Racing team rider. For the same reason Raul Fernandez was also penalized, but in his case the fine was €1,000, because Bezzecchi is a repeat offender: he had already committed this type of infraction.