Bezzecchi Won’t Stand for It, Responds to Fernandez’s Accusations: “I’m Not Racing to Take Him Out”

The Spaniard lashed out at him, while the Italian hit back, insisting that he was not to blame for the incident at the start of the Sprint race in Indonesia.

The Mandalika International Circuit is a venue that suits Aprilia, who were expected to score as many points as possible in their bid to get the better of Ducati in both the riders’ and constructors’ championships. But today’s Sprint was something of a disaster. Not only did Marc Marquez take victory, with Jorge Martin finishing only fourth and being overtaken by his compatriot in the overall standings, but we also witnessed a first-corner crash between Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi after the start.

The pole-sitter and the rider starting alongside him had been the favorites for victory, having shown better pace than the others. However, they were unable to capitalize on their potential because of the contact that caused both of them to crash and retire. A major disappointment.

Bezzecchi had the chance to give his side of the story to Sky Sport MotoGP: "At the start, we are all very close together, and it often happens that you have to pick the bike up or change your line slightly. That is what I had to do today, unfortunately, because of Fabio and Marc’s overtakes. I had to pick the bike up twice, and the second time I felt contact, after which I found myself on the ground. A great shame, but that’s racing".

Fernandez strongly accused him of causing the crash with an ugly and deliberate maneuver, but the Aprilia Racing rider believes he did nothing wrong: "It would not have made sense to pick the bike up to send Raul off, I’m not racing to take him out. I had to pick it up because of an overtake, and in the end he touched me. I’m sorry that he got angry, but I didn’t want to be there at that moment either. It happens, I accept it, it’s no problem... We haven’t spoken, but he was the one who touched me. I don’t understand his reaction, but I accept it because adrenaline and nerves can lead you to do things you normally wouldn’t do. I am proof of that. I don’t think there’s any need to waste energy; we’ll focus on our work".

Marc Marquez made an excellent getaway at the start, running alongside Fabio Di Giannantonio into Turn 1. The rider from Rimini had anticipated it: "I expected it, because Marc has always done that in the last few Sprints. There was no point in stubbornly trying to stay ahead at all costs through the first corner. I would have come out third or fourth, but with 13 laps still ahead to try to recover and produce the best race possible. I’ll try again tomorrow".

Bezzecchi has excellent pace in Indonesia, and there is certainly potential to think about winning the full-length race. However, his retirement from the Sprint has further reduced his chances of challenging for the 2026 MotoGP title: he is now 59 points behind Marquez and 55 behind Martin. After the Mandalika GP, the Aprilia garage will have to consider whether to adopt some strategy to defeat the reigning Ducati champion while supporting Martin in the title race.

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