Bezzecchi, too many crashes in the Sprints: now he must study Ogura and react

The Rimini rider’s sprint race in the Czech Republic ended with a disappointing slide: the Championship leader explains what happened.

Marco Bezzecchi was in fifth place when he crashed at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap, saying goodbye to 5 points that seemed already in his pocket. He wasn’t shining, he was a bit far from fourth (Di Gianantonio), but he was keeping his teammate and rival Jorge Martin behind. The slide is a gift to the Spaniard, who closes the gap in the standings to -15.

Brno marks the fourth Sprint DNF of the season for the Rimini rider, who also finished Saturdays at Buriram, Austin, and Jerez with 0 points. To win the world title, it’s crucial to cut down on mistakes and try to bring home the maximum points, even if that sometimes means settling for fifth place. Certainly, today’s crash will spur him to react for Sunday’s long race.

When he appeared on Sky Sport MotoGP, it was clear Bezzecchi wasn’t in the mood to talk; he was quite dejected about how his Sprint had gone: "I’m disappointed," he said. "It wasn’t about being overconfident; I wasn’t super fast when I crashed. I struggled throughout the sprint; I was never super quick. I put the medium rear tire on, so I knew I’d have a bit of trouble at the start and, in fact, I lost a few positions. I couldn’t be as fast as Ogura, who did a great job and this weekend is fast on any tire. I’m fairly quick on the medium, but a bit less than the very front guys."

The rider from Romagna had fitted the medium rear tire, like fellow brand rider Ai Ogura, who nevertheless finished second at the flag between Pecco Bagnaia (soft) and Marc Marquez (soft). Recounting how his race unfolded, he highlighted that he ran into trouble with the front: "I tried to hang in there, but I was really struggling. The front tire heated up a lot and unfortunately I lost it at Turn 3 without really understanding how. Looking at the data, there aren’t many differences compared to the previous laps, but when you crash it always means there was a small mistake. Turn 3 is tough; on this track the tire heats up a lot on the right, even though the few heavy braking zones are on the left. I made a small mistake; the important thing is to understand how to manage everything well in the race. We need to bounce back on Sunday."

Bez is eager for redemption, and on Sunday at Brno he’ll aim at least for the podium, something he has always managed after ending the Sprints at Buriram, Austin, and Jerez with retirements. In Thailand and the United States he won the races, while in Spain he finished second behind Alex Marquez. Looking at these precedents, it’s fair to think we’ll see him among the protagonists again on Sunday.

Taking a look at Ogura’s data could help him. It also remains to be seen how he’ll feel physically, since after Friday’s free practice he explained he had pain in his right leg, with his foot even going numb. A consequence of the incident caused by Martin at Balaton Park. Over race distance, some discomfort could emerge. Even if he doesn’t feel among the fastest at Brno, he still has time to fine-tune things. On Sunday morning there’s a Warm Up he can use to try something new and maybe be able to climb onto the podium.