Bezzecchi struggles at Brno: "My foot goes numb." Also fined

Second half for the rider from Rimini, who isn’t feeling great and has also received a monetary penalty: the latest news from Brno.

The incident caused by Jorge Martin in the MotoGP race in Hungary had consequences not only for the standings. In fact, both the Spaniard and Marco Bezzecchi arrived in the Czech Republic not in ideal physical condition. The former has some back pain, while the latter is dealing with pain in his right leg. In the anticipated pre-qualifying, only the Italian managed to gain direct access to Q2 of Qualifying.

And he did it well, with a time that was the new lap record at Brno before Ai Ogura managed to go 0.091 seconds faster at the end of the session. Despite being able to put in some particularly quick laps, Bez didn’t feel great physically. Things went worse for the Martinator, as he ended the day with the 11th fastest time, which condemns him to face Q1 to fight for one of the two remaining spots in Q2.

Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, the championship leader highlighted both the quality of the work done today in Brno and the fact that he didn’t expect to have certain physical issues: "It’s only Friday, but it’s still important to start well. In reality, even if it didn’t look like it from the timesheets, we did some important work that laid good foundations for the afternoon. I’m a bit disappointed, because I hoped I’d feel better physically. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling great; I hope to build up over the next few days. Usually, with a bit of grit I manage to feel better."

Bezzecchi specified what his limitation was when riding his Aprilia RS-GP26, even though overall his lap times were quite satisfying and give him confidence for the rest of the weekend: "My leg hurts a lot and my foot goes numb. After two or three laps, I struggle a bit. But it’s only Friday, so let’s keep calm. I’m happy with how I feel on the bike and how we worked in the two sessions. I just expected to feel better physically; before riding I felt fine, but after four or five laps I started to struggle a bit. Anyway, the pace was good and I also did a good time attack, so there’s not too much to complain about."

It was also announced today that a fine of 1,000 euros was imposed due to an irregular action the Romagnolo carried out during the practice start session. Specifically, he violated Article 3.3.2.2 of the Regulations, which stipulates that riders must not stop, move forward, and stop again during practice starts, as this behavior is considered unsafe and potentially dangerous.

For this reason, the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel notified the Aprilia Racing team of the decision to issue a fine for Bezzecchi’s conduct. The same fate befell Cal Crutchlow of the LCR Honda team, who also committed an irregular action in the same context.